SENATE. 


52d  Congress. 
1st  Session. 


L\/V\  O 

lONGRESS,  ) 
Session.  > 


Ex.  Doc. 


IN  THE  SENATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


o 


<D 


LETTER 


FROM 


THE  SECRETARY  OF  AGRICULTURE, 


IN  RESPONSE 


To  Senate  resolution  of  February  23 , 1892 , transmitting  the  report  of  the 
agent  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  making  experiments  in  the 
production  of  rainfall. 


February  25,  1892. — Referred  to  the  Committee  on  Agriculture  and  Forestry  and 

ordered  to  be  printed. 


U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture, 

Office  of  the  Secretary, 
Washington , D.  (7.,  February  24 , 1892. 
To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States : 

In  compliance  with  a resolution  of  your  honorable  body,  of  the  23d 
instant,  directing  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  to  communicate  to  the 
Senate  a copy  of  the  report  of  the  special  agent  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  for  making  experiment^  in  the  production  of  rainfall,  I 
have  the  honor  to  transmit  said  report  herewith. 

I have  the  honor  to  remain,  yours  very  respectfully, 

J.  M.  EUSK, 

Secretary. 


The  Secretary  of  Agriculture  : 

Sir:  As  special  agent  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  for  making 
experiments  in  the  production  of  rainfall,  I have  the  honor,  in  compli- 
ance with  instructions  contained  in  your  letters,  dated  February  27  and 
June  30,  1891  (copies  of  which  are  hereunto  annexed),  to  submit  for 
your  consideration  the  following  report : 


HISTORY  AND  ORIGIN. 


It  has  long  been  sought  to  devise  some  means,  whereby  the  blessings 
of  rainfall  may  be  somewhat  equally  enjoyed — that  is  to  say,  whereby 
there  may  not  be  distress  from  lack  of  rainfall,  and  whereby  rainfall 
may  be  a blessing  and  not  a calamity. 

Many  schemes,  more  or  less  rational,  for  producing  rainfall,  have  been 
suggested.  Among  the  earlier  was  one  of  Prof.  Espy.  In  1839,  Espy 
suggested  the  building  of  great  fires  to  heat  the  air,  upon  the  theory 
that  warm  air,  “rising,  would,  owing  to  the  diminished  pressure,  ex- 


2 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


pand,  and,  by  expansion  cooling  the  vapor,  cause  condensation  and 
precipitation.” 

It  was  proposed  in  Australia,  in  1884,  after  a drought  had  prevailed 
for  three  years,  causing  great  industrial  depression,  to  test  Espy’s  the- 
ory; but  Mr.  Russell,  the  Government  astronomer  in  New  South  Wales, 
declared  that  it  would  require  the  burning  of  9,000,000  tons  of  coal 
daily,  to  increase  the  rainfall  at  Sydney  by  66  per  cent,  where  the  aver- 
age relative  humidity  is  73. 

It  has  also  been  suggested  to  build  fires  along  the  margins  of  rivers 
or  to  erect  a tall  chimney  over  a pool  of  water  and  build  fires  at  the 
edge  of  the  water,  with  draft  over  the  water  up  the  chimney,  causing 
the  flames  to  pass  over  the  surface  of  the  water  to  the  chimney,  and 
thus  carry  moisture  into  the  air.  There  is  no  doubt  that  this  will  form 
clouds  of  vapor  in  the  air;  but  it  is  not  equally  certain  that  the  vapor 
will  be  condensed  to  raindrops. 

In  1871  Mr.  Edward  Powers  published  a book  entitled  “War  and 
the  Weather,”  being  a collection  of  historical  data  tending  to  show  that 
even  in  very  dry  regions,  battles,  during  which  there  was  cannonading, 
have  been  followed  by  copious  fall  of  rain. 

The  theory  that  rainfall  will  be  produced  by  concussion  of  the  air, 
caused  by  explosions,  is  not  new.  Napoleon  is  said  to  have  believed 
that  rain  usually  followed  heavy  cannonading  and  to  have  taken  ad- 
vantage of  this  theory  in  ordering  the  maneuvers  of  his  troops. 

European  scientists  of  a later  day,  entertaining  the  same  theory, 
have  pointed  to  the  unusually  wet  season  which  prevailed  throughout 
France  during  the  Franco-Prussian  war. 

Quite  recently,  after  writing  my  report,  I have  received  from  M. 
Charles  LeMaout,  of  Saint-Brieuc  (Ootes-du-Nord),  France,  five  printed 
pamphlets,  being  essays  by  him,  dated,  respectively,  1856,  1861,  1870, 
1886,  and  1887,  discussing  the  effect  of  concussion  of  the  air  toward  the 
production  of  rainfall,  and,  by  numerous  illustrations,  declaring  rainfall 
invariably  to  result  from  heavy  cannonading. 

In  addition  to  declared  observations  of  rainfall  succeeding  battles, 
from  concussion  of  the  air  from  cannonading,  attention  has  been  called 
to  the  fact  that  during  a shower,  a heavy  clap  of  thunder  is  always  suc- 
ceeded by  an  immediately  increased  fall  of  rain,  ^ven  if  this  be  but  for 
a short  time. 

The  proposition  of  Mr.  Powers  was  to  resort  to  heavy  cannonading, 
and  he  estimated  that  the  cost  of  two  experiments,  exclusive  of  the  cost 
of  the  guns  which  were  to  be  loaned  for  the  purpose  by  the  Govern- 
ment, would  be  $161,500,  or  a little  over  $80,000  each. 

In  1880,  Gen.  Daniel  Buggies,  of  Virginia,  obtained  a patent  on  the 
production  of  rainfall  by  setting  off  explosives  from  balloons  in  the  air. 

The  idea  of  producing  rainfall  by  concussion,  with  the  incident  ad- 
vantages to  the  world  of  rain  where  it  is  needed  and  such  proper  dis- 
tribution of  the  rainfall  that  there  might  not  be  floods  and  torrents, 
made  a strong  impression  upon  the  mind  of  Senator  Charles  B.  Far  well, 
of  Illinois.  Considering  the  question  of  expense,  however,  it  occurred 
to  him,  independently,  and  without  knowledge  that  anything  of  the 
kind  had  ever  been  suggested,  that  a great  saving  might  be  effected 
with  increased  efficiency  of  operation,  by  causing  the  explosions  to  take 
place  above  the  earth’s  surface,  by  firing  high  explosive  attached  to  bal- 
loons. It  seemed  preferable  to  him  to  produce  explosions  somewhat 
above  the  surface  of  the  earth,  because  of  the  closer  proximity  of  the 
concussive  force  to  the  clouds,  that  is,  to  an  apparent  stratum  or  to  ap- 
parent strata  of  moisture,  or,  if  there  were  no  clouds,  still  at  a situation 
where  the  concussion  would  be  most  widespread,  by  not  being  impeded 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL.  3 

by  irregularities  or  obstacles  on  the  surface,  thus  extending  the  area  of 
concussion. 

During  the  years  1888, 1889,  and  1890,  Senator  Farwell  frequently  dis- 
cussed with  me  the  physical  and  mechanical  questions  involved  in  the 
subject,  and,  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  some  knowledge  of  the  present 
state  of  the  art  in  meteorological  science,  I availed  myself  of  the  privi- 
lege of  acquaintance  with  Lieut.  John  P.  Finley,  of  the  Army,  who  has 
long  been  connected  with  the  Signal  Service  and  whose  work  is  well 
known,  and  also  brought  him  and  Senator  Farwell  together.  In  many 
interviews  I obtained  much  specific  theoretical  information  from  him. 

Impressed  with  the  desirability  of  testing  the  question  of  producing 
rainfall  by  concussion,  Senator  Farwell  obtained  appropriations  from 
Congress,  at  first  of  $2,000  and  then  of  $7,000,  which  appropriations 
were  accredited  to  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Senator  Farwell  having  discussed  the  physical  and  mechanical  details 
of  the  subject  with  me  for  a long  time,  as  described,  and  I having  un- 
dertaken some  preliminary  experiments  at  his  expense,  in  1890  and 
early  in  1891,  to  test  the  ascensional  force  of  various  gases  in  different 
kinds  of  balloons,  my  name  was  brought  to  your  attention,  and  on  the 
27th  of  February,  1891, 1 had  the  honor  to  receive  from  you  the  appoint- 
ment as  special  agent  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  for  the  mak- 
ing of  experiments  in  the  production  of  rainfall,  which  appointment  was 
continued  June  30,  1891  to  June  30,  1892. 

PRELIMINARY  INVESTIGATION. 

At  an  early  stage  of  the  consideration  of  the  subject,  I discarded  the 
idea  of  firing  explosives  from  balloons.  The  plan  having  been  to  send 
up  high  explosives  and  set  them  off  in  the  air,  I thought  it  would  be 
best  to  make  the  gas  employed  to  carry  up  the  balloon  itself  the  explo- 
sive, and  to  employ  a mixture  of  hydrogen  and  oxygen,  in  the  propor- 
tion of  about  two  of  hydrogen  to  one  of  oxygen.  This  mixture  of  gases, 
upon  ignition,  explodes  with  great  force  and  produces  water,  thus,  per- 
haps, presenting  (although  the  quantity  is  very  small  as  compared  with 
the  volume  of  the  gas  mixture)  a nucleus  for  the  aggregation  of  more 
water. 

But,  upon  suggestion  from  Senator  Farwell,  it  was  deemed  best  not 
to  rely  solely  upon  explosions  produced  above  the  surface  of  the  earth, 
nor  solely  upon  the  effect  of  ignition  of  the  gaseous  mixture ; and  it 
was  determined  at  the  proper  time  to  try  the  effect  of  explosions  upon 
the  ground  and  of  the  ignition  of  various  other  explosive  subst  ances  from 
ordinary  gunpowder  (for  the  dense  smoke  resulting,  which  might  supply 
nuclei  for  the  aggregation  of  moisture)  to  the  high  nitro-explosives. 

Immediately  upon  receiving  the  appointment,  I addressed  myself  to 
the  careful  consideration  of  the  subject,  and,  availing  myself  of  the  aid 
of  the  libraries  of  Congress  and  of  the  Patent  Office,  endeavored  to  as- 
certain what,  if  anything,  had  been  done  heretofore,  knowledge  of  which 
might  lead  to  benefit,  either  in  the  avoidance  of  any  operation  which 
had  shown  itself  to  be  futile,  or  iu  the  adoption  of  measures  which 
would  seem  to  have  produced  condensation  of  aqueous  vapor  in  the  at- 
mosphere. 

I found  innumerable  instances  where  heavy  cannonading  had  been  fol- 
lowed by  copious  fall  of  rain,  though  there  was  nothing  definite  to  in- 
dicate that  there  might  not  have  been  rainfall  in  each  case  without 
the  firing;  and  I also  found  an  instance  where  a surface  cloud  is  said 
to  have  been  caused  to  disappear  by  firing : — a battery  in  France,  going 
out  and  encountering  a fog  or  mist,  the  firing  of  one  or  more  of  the  guns 
S.  Ex.  5 4 


4 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


being  said  to  have  caused  dissipation  of  the  mist  by  condensation  and 
precipitation  of  the  vapor;  but  I could  find  nothing  precise  and  authen- 
tic to  serve  as  a guide  for  the  details,  when  and  in  what  manner  to  pro- 
duce explosions  in  order  to  get  any  certain  result. 

THEORIES. 

From  about  the  time  of  the  appointment  until  recently  I have  re- 
ceived many  suggestions,  entailing  considerable  labor  of  correspond- 
ence on  my  part;  but  the  suggestions  have  been  mostly  as  to  possible 
theories  (many  of  which  I was  quite  unable  to  understand). 

Among  the  theories  advanced  by  those  who  maintain  the  practica- 
bility of  producing  rainfall  by  concussion,  I mention  the  following: 

First.  That  the  jarring  of  the  air  by  the  concussive  force  of  explos- 
ions causes  aggregations  of  the  particles  of  moisture  held  in  suspension, 
particularly  by  the  tendency  of  such  a body  as  water  to  condensation, 
collection,  or  agglomeration,  like  quicksilver. 

Second.  That  in  connection  with  the  jarring,  smoke,  particularly,  per- 
haps, the  smoke  of  gunpowder,  presents  nuclei  or  mechanical  retaining 
points  for  the  agglomeration  of  suspended  particles  of  moisture,  that 
moisture  will  collect  in  the  air  upon  solid  particles  as  nuclei  being- 
shown  by  the  fact  that  hailstones  are  frequently  found  to  have  particles 
of  dust  or  vegetable  matter  at  their  centers. 

Third.  That  the  reaction  of  the  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  after  each 
explosion,  combined  with  the  shock  of  the  explosion,  the  buoyancy  of 
the  gases  produced,  and  the  heat  generated,  creates  a forcible  upward 
current,  which  breaks  strata  above  and  below,  and  takes  the  form  of  an 
eddy  or  whirlpool,  which  tends  still  further  to  break  the  strata  and  also 
extends  the  disturbance;  or,  with  a shade  of  difference,  that  each  explo- 
sion producing  a momentary  vacuum,  the  subsequent  inrush  of  columns 
of  air  (considering  the  air,  for  mere  illustration,  to  be  in  lateral  columns) 
will,  perhaps  by  the  motion  of  the  earth  on  its  axis,  not  be  just  end  to 
end  or  point  against  point;  but,  the  columns  passing  each  other,  a whirl 
or  whorl  will  be  started  which,  widening  as  it  extends  upward,  will  pre- 
sent a vortex,  whereby  heavy  or  moisture-laden  air  will  be  drawn  from 
afar,  in  right  lines,  toward  the  center,  just  as  objects  are  drawn  from 
the  circumference  of  the  maelstrom  to  its  center ; the  action  being  thus 
centripetal  and  not  centrifugal;  the  precipitation  not  necessarily  wait- 
ing for  an  arrival  at  the  storm  center,  but  taking  place  as  soon  as  there 
has  been  sufficient  weight  of  moisture  by  condensation,  anywhere  away 
from  this  center,  to  prevent  its  longer  being  held  in  suspension. 

Fourth.  That  electricity  is  generated  by  every  explosion  by  the  fric- 
tion and  other  effects  of  the  disturbances,  and  that  this  may  be  the 
factor  in  generation  of  storm -conditions  by  producing  polarization  of  the 
earth  and  sky  in  the  vicinity  of  the  explosion,  and  a consequent  mag- 
netic field  with  a force  tending  to  the  gathering  of  moisture  and  the  in 
ducing  of  other  conditions  necessary  for  storm  formation,  electrical 
manifestation  being  a constant  forerunner  and  concomitant  of  storms ; 
and 

Fifth.  That,  considering  the  distance  between  the  place  whence  a 
moisture-laden  air-current  starts,  or  is  finally  launched,  and  the  place 
where  it  parts  with  its  moisture,  as  a straight  line  or  a line  of  collima- 
tion,  the  actual  track  of  the  current  or  the  path  of  the  moisture  will  be 
curvilinear — just  as  the  trajectory  of  a projectile  is  a parabola — that, 
as  a very  slight  obstruction,  ‘opposed  to  a projectile  under  even  very 
great  velocity,  will  greatly  aid  the  force  of  gravity  in  deflecting  the 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


5 


projectile  toward  the  earth,  that  is,  shortening  the  curve,  so,  opposing 
waves  in  the  atmosphere,  produced  by  explosions,  will  tend  to  shorten 
the  path  of  the  current,  and  that  if  this  moisture-laden  current  then 
meets  a cold  current,  precipitation  of  the  moisture  upon  the  earth  will 
be  immediate;  that  the  moisture-laden  current  passing  from  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean  eastward  is  deflected  upward  by  the  Rocky  Mountains  to 
such  an  extent  that  its  trajectory  from  that  place — the  place  whence 
the  current  is  launched — is  very  long,  so  that  the  current  does  not  get 
within  reaching  distance  of  the  earth  until  it  has  passed  over  what  are 
called  the  arid  regions ; that  the  cause  of  precipitation  of  moisture  toward 
the  end  of  the  trajectory  is  by  reason  of  contact  of  the  moisture-laden 
current  with  the  north  current,  and  that  if  the  moisture-laden  current 
can  be  brought  down  sooner  precipitation  will  take  place  at  a shorter  dis- 
tance from  the  upward  deflecting  surface,  or  the  mountains.  The  ob- 
jection that  the  moisture-laden  current  will  be  at  least  as  liable  to  meet 
a cold  current  or  conditions  of  low  temperature  at  high  altitudes,  and 
so  have  its  moisture  condensed  there,  is  met  by  the  statement  that  if 
the  moisture  be  condensed,  even  congealed  to  frost  or  to  ice  particles  so 
high  above  the  earth’s  surface,  it  may  still  be  carried  onward  to  a great 
distance  by  its  vehicle,  namely,  the  current  of  air,  before  it  gets  below 
this  vehicle,  and,  even  after  having  dropped  therefrom,  may  be  com- 
pletely absorbed  by  dry  air  below,  before  reaching  the  earth;  so  that 
the  point  of  this  theory  would  seem  to  be  to  bring  down  the  moisture- 
laden current. 


PREPARATORY  WORK. 

Without  any  theory  or  theories  on  the  subject  myself,  I understood 
your  appointment  to  mean  that  I was  to  consider  and  formulate,  and 
adopt  or  devise  the  most  practical  and  reasonable  means  to  ascertain 
whether  violent  and  sudden  motion  or  concussions,  produced  upon  the 
air  by  explosions,  can  have  any  effect  toward  the  production  of  rainfall. 

Therefore,  in  the  preparation  of  this  report  I have  confined  myself, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  a mere  statement  of  facts,  together  with  such  a 
review  of  past  information  as  may  be  useful  in  giving  weight  to  pre- 
vious investigation,  concluding  with  deductions  that  seem  to  be  justi- 
fied by  the  observational  and  experimental  knowledge  obtained. 

I determined  to  proceed  in  a purely  empirical  and,  so  far  as  my  judg- 
ment would  extend,  practical  manner;  and  the  first  step  was  to  ascer- 
tain what  would  constitute  the  best  explodents.  My  knowledge  of 
explosives  and  their  action  was  somewhat  aided  by  early  military  train- 
ing, some  military  experience  in  time  of  war  and  subsequent  thereto, 
and  connection  with  the  subject  of  explosives  as  chemist  in  the  United 
States  Patent  Office. 

Early  in  March  I went  to  New  York  City  and  spent  some  days  in 
going  around  among  the  manufacturers  of  high  explosives,  and  pro- 
cured samples  for  test.  I also  procured  a number  of  paper  balloons 
and  some  paper  bombs. 

Returning  with  these  I made  the  necessary  tests  at  my  country  place, 
Laurelwood,  at  Mount  Pleasant,  in  this  District,  a short  distance  from 
the  city  of  Washington.  I found  the  balloons  entirely  unsatisfactory, 
because  the  paper  was  not  gas-tight.  I found  the  preferable  explosive 
for  the  purpose  to  be  rackarock,  which,  consisting  of  two  ingredients, 
non-explosive  when  separate,  and  thus  very  safe  and  transportable  as 
ordinary  freight,  is  of  high  explosive  force  when  the  ingredients  are 
properly  mixed,  though  even  when  ready  for  explosion  it  is  less  sen- 


6 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


sitive  and  so  less  dangerous  than  dynamite  and  the  other  common 
nitro-explosives;  and  I became  satisfied  that  the  bombs,  if  fired  in  suf- 
ficient quantity  and  made  of  somewhat  larger  size  than  I was  able  to 
obtain,  might  be  effective. 

In  the  meantime  I had  begun  correspondence  with  all  the  balloon 
manufacturers  in  the  United  States  of  whom  I could  learn,  in  order  to 
get  the  prices  of  balloons  of  various  sizes  and  materials,  adapted  for 
use  for  inflation  with  oxygen  and  hydrogen  gases,  and  to  be  exploded 
at  high  altitudes. 

As  a result  of  my  correspondence,  upon  the  morning  of  March  9,  a 
balloon  manufacturer  and  practical  aeronaut,  of  New  York  State,  ar- 
rived at  Washington,  bringing  samples  of  fabric  and  paper  for  balloon 
construction  and  also  parts  of  apparatus  for  the  manufacture  of  oxygen 
gas.  He  and  I,  together  with  Dr.  Claude  A.  O.  Bosell,  of  the  Patent 
Office,  an  eminent  chemist,  who  was  subsequently  detailed  by  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior,  upon  your  request,  at  my  suggestion,  to  aid  me 
in  making  the  experiments,  tested  the  oxygen  apparatus  and  carefully 
discussed  the  questions  of  size  of  balloons,  and  of  the  material  from 
which  they  might  most  advantageously  and  economically  be  manu- 
factured. 

The  balloon  manufacturer  was  directed  to  return  at  once  to  his  place, 
where,  having  facilities  for  manufacturing  and  sending  up  balloons  of 
all  sizes,  he  should  experiment  with  the  various  fabrics  and  papers  and 
also  with  small  quantities  of  the  explosive  mixture  of  gases  proposed, 
and  should  report  to  me  when  he  had  arrived  at  something  definite, 
whereupon  I would,  myself,  go  there  to  experiment  and  make  observa- 
tions before  ordering  a large  quantity  of  apparatus  and  material  for 
making  the  more  important  experiments  in  the  District  of  Columbia  and 
elsewhere. 

During  the  next  few  weeks  experiments  were  made  on  the  lines  pro- 
posed, and  I made  search  in  New  York  City  and  at  other  points,  for  a 
paper  or  material  for  manufacturing  paper  suitable  for  the  construction 
of  balloons  of  8 or  10  feet  in  diameter.  The  use  of  paper  for  the  pur- 
pose would  greatly  reduce  the  cost  of  balloons,  but  no  j)ractical  way  of 
obtaining  a paper  that  would  answer  the  requirements  was  found. 
With  more  time  for  investigation,  however,  I have  no  doubt  that  a suit- 
ablepaper  can  be  provided,  and  believe  that  a paper  properly  made  .from 
the  pulp  obtained  from  the  destroyed  Treasury  notes  or  national  cur- 
rency— the  so-called  greenback  pulp — would  answer  the  purpose. 

During  March,  I was  also  engaged  in  considering  various  apparatus 
and  devising  plans  of  operation. 

On  the  5th  of  April  I went  to  New  York  State  with  an  assistant  and 
spent  several  days  with  the  balloon-maker,  making  experiments  in  pro- 
ducing concussions  by  means  of  various  explosives,  especially  with  the 
mixture  of  oxygen  and  hydrogen  gases.  This  mixture  was  found  to 
produce  a very  powerful  explosion  and  concussion  of  the  air,  and  the 
balloon-maker  w as  given  an  order  for  the  following  material  and  appa- 
ratus : 

Twenty  10-foot  balloons,  constructed  of  fine  muslin,  woven  especially 
lor  the  purpose  and  supplied  by  special  apparatus  with  a number  of 
very  thin  coats  of  varnish. 

Twenty  retorts  or  canisters,  witli  proper  fittings  for  manufacturing 
oxygen. 

One  gasoline  furnace  for  the  same. 

Fifty  electrical  fuses. 

One  20-foot  balloon. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


7 


One  electrical  discharger. 

One  hydrogen  generating  apparatus,  complete. 

Five  oxygen  wasli-hottles,  with  connections;  and  some  dynamite. 

Later,  more  balloons,  etc.,  were  ordered. 

A balloon  10  feet  in  diameter  will,  including  the  neck,  contain  about 
525  cubic  feet  of  gas  at  30  inches  of  the  barometer;  a 12-foot  balloon, 
about  1,000  cubic  feet;  and  a 20-foot  balloon,  about  4,500  cubic  feet. 

During  April  and  May  the  manufacture  of  balloons  and  the  construc- 
tion of  other  apparatus  were  rapidly  pushed,  and,  with  the  assistance 
of  Dr.  Orazio  Lugo,  of  New  York,  Dr.  Bosell,  of  the  Patent  Office,  and 
Mr.  John  T.  Ellis,  whom  I called  from  Oberlin  College,  Ohio,  to  act  as 
my  assistant,  I thoroughly  investigated  the  different  processes  of  manu- 
facturing the  gas,  etc.,  finally  deciding  upon  the  use  of  sulphuric  acid, 
water,  and  iron,  for  hydrogen,  and  chlorate  of  potash  and  black  oxide 
of  manganese,  subjected  to  high  heat,  for  oxygen,  and  had  the  various 
necessary  apparatus  constructed.  Investigations  were  also  made  as  to 
the  most  economical  and  advantageous  sources  from  which  to  obtain 
the  necessary  chemicals  and  supplies,  freight  and  other  expenses  being 
considered. 

On  the  13th  of  June  I sent  Mr.  Ellis  to  New  York  State,  where  he 
spent  several  days  with  the  balloon-maker  at  his  place,  and  in  New 
York  City  on  his  return,  inspecting  the  apparatus  which  had  been  con- 
structed and  making  final  arrangements  for  a preliminary  test  in  the 
District  of  Columbia  during  the  following  week. 

Some  time  was  spent  in  looking  about  for  clean  and  suitable  iron  bor- 
ings or  scrap  as  free  as  possible  from  grease,  and  many  establishments 
in  the  United  States,  which  would  be  likely  to  have  such,  were  written 
to  for  prices  and  other  information. 

It  also  occurred  to  me  that  kites  might  be  employed  for  suspending 
in  the  air  high  explosives,  such  as  nitro  glycerine  or  nitro-gelatine,  in 
suitable  pouches  of  fabric,  or  dynamite  or  other  solid  explosives,  in 
sticks  or  parcels,  though  the  idea  of  employing  nitro  glycerine  or  nitro- 
gelatine  was  subsequently  abandoned  as  too  dangerous  and  as  trouble- 
some in  use,  the  operation  being  confined  in  this  particular  to  the  em- 
ployment of  dynamite  and  rackarock. 

I considered  that  kites  might  also  be  serviceable  to  act  as  condensers 
to  collect  and  convey  to  the  earth  any  appreciable  atmospheric  elec- 
tricity. I thought  that  if  the  explosion  of  the  gas  mixture  or  of  other 
substances  employed,  generated  static  electricity  by  the  concussion  or 
by  friction  of  bodies  of  air,  then,  by  having  a suitably  prepared  kite 
within  proper  distance  of  the  exploding  balloon,  the  charge  might  be 
collected  and  possibly  measured.  It  seemed,  also,  that  the  kites  might 
be  employed  to  ascertain  atmospheric  electrical  conditions  before  and 
after,  as  well  as  at  the  time  of  explosion.  For  electrical  purposes  it 
was  clear  that  the  faces  of  kites  should  be  supplied  with  strips  of  tin- 
foil  properly  in  contact  with  a suitable  light,  insulated,  two-conductor 
wire,  and  that  the  wire  might,  at  the  earth,  be  in  connection  with  a sul- 
phuric acid  or  other  suitable  condenser,  the  kites  also  to  have  collect- 
ing kfiobs  of  coils  of  wire  at  their  corners.  But  simple  as  the  making 
and  flying  of  a kite  may  appear,  every  boy  being  an  adept  in  the  art  of 
kite-flying,  it  is  not  so  easy  to  determine  just  what  form  of  kite  would 
be  suitable  for  my  purposes,  and  I undertook  and  engaged  in  many  ex- 
periments in  which  I received  assistance  from  the  balloon-maker.  The 
handling  of  large  kites  with  long  tails  was  found  to  be  exceedingly 
troublesome,  and  the  preparation  and  transportation  of  this  balanciog 
weight  was  a serious  matter,  considering  the  question  of  time  and  labor. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


As  a stiff  breeze  tends  to  carry  kites  out  horizontally  and  keep  them 
from  rising  when  hung  as  usual,  a hanging  or  poise  was  adopted  which 
would  tend  to  make  the  kite  ride  the  wind ; and,  in  order  to  get  a 
greater  elevation  than  can  be  got  with  one  kite,  owing  to  the  weight  of 
the  connecting  line  or  wire,  I determined  to  send  some  kites  up  u tan- 
dem,” whereby  intermediate  kites  between  the  end  kite  and  the 
ground,  the  intermediate  kites  having  short  lines  attached  to  the  main 
lines,  would  act  as  buoys  to  lift  the  main  line. 

I ordered  a large  supply  of  sticks  and  of  fabric,  and  other  adjunctive 
matter  from  which  to  make  a number  of  kites,  varying  in  height  from 
3 to  12  feet,  regard  being  had  in  the  manufacture  to  the  economical 
cutting  of  the  material.  It  was  found  that  some  of  the  kites  could  be 
made  tailless. 

In  addition  to  the  other  work,  I had  spent  some  time  in  prospecting 
over  the  District  of  Columbia  for  a suitable  site  or  place  where  the  ap- 
paratus might  be  set  up  and  tested,  and  a few  balloons  be  exploded  to 
get  some  idea  of  the  concussive  effect.  Since  a soap-bubble  filled  with 
two  parts  of  hydrogen  to  one  of  oxygen  will  explode  with  a report  as 
loud  as  that  of  a horse-pistol,  it  was  not  known  what  might  be  the 
effect  of  the  explosion  of  hundreds  or  thousands  of  cubic  feet  of  the 
mixture,  and  I did  not  deem  it  wise  to  explode  a balloon  filled  with  the 
mixture  at  any  place  except  where  there  might  be  ample  room  and 
freedom  from  habitations.  An  experiment  made  many  years  ago  by 
Prof.  Joseph  Henry,  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  in  which  he  had 
exploded  less,  1 believe,  than  50  cubic  feet  of  the  mixture,  compressed 
and  in  a vessel  buried  in  the  ground,  had  resulted  in  what  seemed  like 
an  earthquake  on  a small  scale,  and  had,  I am  informed,  torn  a hole  in 
the  ground  some  18  feet  in  diameter.  In  addition,  it  was  necessary 
that  the  place  should  be  of  ready  access  for  the  carriage  of  the  mate- 
rial and  apparatus  thereto.  It  was  also  necessary,  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  the  fiydrogen,  that  water  should  be  within  convenient  distance, 
and  it  seemed  best  to  choose  a somewhat  secluded  place  for  operation 
in  order  to  be  undisturbed.  I finally  ascertained  that  the  most  suitable 
place  was  a field  hidden  from  the  road  by  a grove  of  trees  and  on  a 
hillside  running  down  to  Piney  Branch  Creek,  near  my  place  in  the 
country. 


PRELIMINARY  TESTS. 

On  the  17th  of  June,  Mr.  Ellis  returned  to  Washington  with  the  bal- 
loon-maker and  an  aeronaut  and  aeronautical  mechanic,  Mr.  George  E. 
Casler.  Unsettled  and  rainy  weather  during  the  next  succeeding  three 
days  prevented  any  outdoor  work,  but  plans  and  methods  were  fully 
discussed  here  with  me. 

On  the  20th  and  21st,  a small  hydrogen -generator,  an  oxygen  appara- 
tus, and  sufficient  material  to  inflate  a number  of  balloons  were  taken 
to  the  field  on  Piney  Branch,  and  some  things  stored  in  the  buildings 
on  my  place,  and  on  the  22d  one  balloon  was  inflated  and  sent  up  cap- 
tive with  duplex  insulated,  or  so-called  two-conductor,  wire  (No.  21) 
holding  the  balloon  at  the  neck  and  also  connected  to  an  inserted  elec- 
trical cap  or  fuse,  and  exploded  at  an  altitude  of  1,850  feet  above  the 
top  of  the  hill,  from  the  electrical  discharger  or  dynamo  on  the  ground. 
The  appearance  of  the  explosion  was  that  of  a disk  of  fire  extending 
laterally  and  of  a diameter  of  about  20  feet,  with  irregular  lance-like 
edges,  and  immediately  afterwards  a slight  nebula  was  visible  for  an 
instant.  The  report  was  terrific  and  was  heard  all  over  the  District  of 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


9 


Columbia,  and  the  concussive  effect  was  far-reaching  and  quite  markedly 
felt  by  those  on  the  field.  The  crash  is  said  to  have  been  greater  than 
that  of  any  peal  of  thunder,  as  appears  from  the  following  letter: 


Smithsonian  Institution, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  June  28,  1891. 

Sir:  Permit  me  to  enter  a protest  against  a continuance  of  the  experiments  in  tir- 
ing the  balloons  on  the  property  adjoining  my  farm  and  residence.  I have  a herd  of 
very  fine  Jersey  cows,  some  with  calf,  and  the  tremendous  explosion  yesterday  right 
over  my  bam  was  calculated  to  cause  abortion.  1 have  had  this  happen  from  a 
thunder  storm  and  your  bomb  was  worse  than  any  thunder.  It  shook  the  house  and 
alarmed  my  family. 

Please,  Mr.  Secretary,  move  your  dynamiters  away  from  “ Oakmont,”  Piney  Branch. 

Yours,  respectfully, 

William  J.  Rhees, 

Chief  Cleric,  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Hon.  J.  Rusk, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 


This  and  the  subsequent  experiments  were  undertaken  for  the  pur- 
pose of  testing  and  studying  the  operation  of  the  apparatus  and  learn- 
ing some  practical  details,  and  being  performed  at  a time  when  rains 
were  frequent,  the  circumstance  of  succeeding  rain  was  not  heeded.  In 
fact  it  was' not  supposed  that  one  explosion  however  great  or  a few  ex- 
plosions at  long  intervals,  would  be  effective  toward  inducing  the  pres- 
ence of  rain  clouds,  since  many  instances  are  known  of  the  explosion  ol 
a powder-mill  without  the  explosion  bringing  rain. 

On  the  24th  a series  of  experiments,  consisting  in  the  inflation  and 
explosion  of  several  10-foot  balloons  (at  rather  long  intervals,  owing  to 
the  inadequacy  of  the  oxygen-generating  apparatus),  was  made  in  the 
presence  of  a number  of  prominent  officials  and  scientists.  The  chief 
purpose  of  these  experiments  was  to  ascertain  whether  a smaller  pro- 
portion of  oxygen  might  not  suffice,  as  I had  recognized  that  the  ready 
production  of  oxygen  in  large  quantity  was  a difficulty  with  which  we 
would  have  to  contend. 

The  explosions  at  these  experiments  were  considered  by  those  who 
were  present,  as  of  great  intensity  and  volume  and  as  very  violent,  but 
I recognized  that  no  one  of  them  was  much  more  than  half  equal  in 
force  and  sound  and  concussive  effect  to  the  explosion  at  the  first  ex- 
periment. This  was  clearly  owing  to  the  diminished  proportion  of 
oxygen.  In  the  case  of  the  explosion  of  one  balloon  the  proportion  of 
oxygen  had  been  so  diminished  that  the  excess  of  hydrogen  took  fire 
and  set  fire  to  the  fragments  of  the  balloon,  which  then  fell  blazing- 
through  the  air. 

The  experiments  were  attended  with  some  difficulty,  owing  to  a rather 
strong  wind  which  prevailed,  and  a balloon,  held  captive,  would  not 
rise  straight  upward,  but  would  be  blown  out  horizontally  after  diving 
toward  the  ground  as  a gust  of  wind  struck  it.  This  showed  me  that 
in  employing  balloons  I should  sometimes  have  to  let  them  be  free  and 
employ  common  time-fuse  with  a percussion  or  fuse  cap  to  fire  them. 

In  this  series  of  experiments,  the  combination  of  the  explosion  of  dyna- 
mite with  that  of  balloons  (two  sticks  of  dynamite  being  placed  in  a 
balloon  with  the  electrical  cap  in  the  dynamite,  the  explosion  of  the 
dynamite  to  set  fire  to  and  explode  the  mixture  of  gases)  was  tried; 
but  the  appearance  was  not  different  from  and  the  report  seemed  little, 
if  at  all,  greater  than  that  from  a balloon  without  dynamite.  It  seems 
noteworthy  that  explosions  in  the  air  do  not  appear  to  have  the  concus- 
sive or  jarring  effect  upon  objects  on  the  earth  which  even  more  distant 
explosions  on  the  ground  have  upon  these  objects  on  the  ground,  so 


10 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


that  I have  never  heard  of  a mere  peal  of  thunder,  however  loud,  break- 
ing glass  in  windows,  while  the  discharge  of  a 6-pounder  gun  with  less 
noise  will  do  this. 

As  the  gas  mixture  and  the  dynamite  placed  together  did  not  produce 
any  markedly  increased  effect,  I considered  that  additional  expense  in 
setting  off  these  different  explosives  together  in  the  air  would  not  be 
justifiable.  I determined  from  this  to  fire  the  gaseous  explodent  alone 
in  the  air,  and  whatever  solid  explodents  were  to  be  employed,  near  to 
or  upon  the  ground. 

In  addition  to  what  has  just  been  described  as  having  been  done  in  this 
series  of  experiments,  two  balloons  filled  with  the  mixture  of  oxygen  and 
hydrogen  were  sent  up,  connected  ^tandem,”  about  100  feet  apart,  by 
electrical  conductors,  and  were  fired  from  the  one  dynamo  on  the  ground. 
Both  balloons  were  exploded,  and  there  was  an  appreciable  interval 
between  the  explosion  of  the  first  and  that  of  the  second  balloon. 

The  apparatus  for  the  manufacture  of  the  gases  was  found  to  work 
fairly  well,  except  as  to  certain  minor  details,  and  provision  was  made 
to  remedy  defects  before  proceeding  further.  The  production  of  oxygen, 
however,  in  the  quantities  necessary  for  practical  operation  was  found 
to  be  an  exceedingly  difficult  problem,  one  scarcely  soluble  without  ob- 
tainment  of  apparatus  too  expensive  for  the  smaller  appropriation  to 
afford.  I had  to  wait,  therefore,  for  the  next  appropriation  to  become 
available,  but  set  to  work  at  once  with  Mr.  David  IT.  Mead,  of  this  city, 
Dr.  Bosell,  and  others  to  devise  a suitable  apparatus  for  manufacturing 
oxygen  on  a larger  scale  and  with  more  certainty.  The  apparatus  de- 
vised will  appear  in  some  of  the  photographs  taken  at  Midland,  Tex., 
and  will  be  pointed  out  later  on.  It  was  proper  in  principle  and,  if 
properly  made,  would  have  answered  every  purpose,  but  made  by  a 
firm  in  this  city,  it  was  defective  in  construction. 

In  accordance  with  the  order  contained  in  your  appointment,  I had 
notified  Gen.  Daniel  Buggies,  the  patentee,  to  be  present  at  the  experi- 
ments of  the  24th,  and  I paid  his  expenses  out  of  the  appropriation. 

Among  those  present  at  this  trial  of  the  apparatus  were  Hon.  Edwin 
Willits,  Assistant  Secretary  of  Agriculture;  Assistant  Secretaries 
of  the  Treasury  Nettleton  and  Spaulding;  Prof.  Langley,  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution;  Maj.  J.  W.  Powell,  of  the  Geological  Survey;  the 
Commissioner  of  Patents,  Gen.  Daniel  Buggies,  and  about  fifty  other 
scientific  and  practical  observers. 

WHERE  TO  GO. 

The  next  consideration  was  where  to  make  the  test  for  rain.  It  was 
not  difficult  to  decide  where  not  to  make  this  test;  for  it  was  clear  that 
operations  in  a rainy  climate  like  that  of  Washington  and  its  vicinity 
and  during  an  unusually  rainy  summer  like  last  summer  would  prove 
little  or  nothing,  at  least  until  some  initial  knowledge  should  have 
been  obtained.  Prom  the  time  that  the  fact  of  the  appropriation  and 
my  selection  as  special  agent  had  become  known,  I had  received  many 
urgent  solicitations  from  various  rainless  regions  to  go  there  and  make 
trials.  But  all  the  places  to  which  I was  asked  to  go  were  not  only 
very  far  from  Washington,  but  most  of  them  were  rather  inaccessible, 
and  the  items  of  transportation  to  and  of  labor  and  assistance  on  the 
ground  would  have  been  very  great.  At  this  point,  I received  a gen- 
erous offer  from  Mr.  Nelson  Morris,  of  Chicago,  of  the  freedom  of  his 
large  ranch  in  the  dry  region  of  Texas,  with  supply,  gratis,  of  assistance, 
free  subsistence  and  quartering  of  the  expedition,  and  payment  of  local 
expenses,  and  I accepted  the  offer. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


11 


The  ranch,  known  as  the  u C”  ranch,  is  near  Midland,  a town  in  the 
Northwestern  part  of  the  State  and  a station  of  the  Texas  and  Pacific 
Railroad,  and  embraces  several  hundred  thousand  acres  (so  there  would 
be  no  want  of  room)  ; but  the  ranch  house,  located  in  the  south  central 
portion  of  the  Llano  Estacado,  in  Andrews  County,  a county  adjoining 
New  Mexico,  on  the  west,  is  23  miles  from  Midland,  much  farther  than 
I had  been  led  to  believe. 

A short  time  before  leaving  Washington,  while  looking  for  a compe- 
tent meteorologist,  Mr.  George  E.  Curtis  was  recommended  to  me  by 
Prof.  B.  E.  Fernow,  chief  of  the  forestry  division  of  the  Agricultural 
Department,  as  a competent  man,  and,  upon  Mr.  Curtis  then  calling 
upon  me,  I employed  him,  at  a stated  per  diem,  to  act  as  meteorologist 
of  the  expedition  during  the  operations  near  Midland.  Mr.  Curtis  was 
not  able  to  leave  Washington  at  the  time  at  which  I left  and  it  was  un- 
derstood that  he  could  not  be  absent  from  Washington  longer  than 
about  three  weeks. 

At  the  request  of  Mr.  Curtis,  I bought  a self-regulating  Richard 
freres  barograph,  and  he  obtained,  through  the  courtesy  of  the  W eather 
Bureau,  a delicate  aneroid  barometer  compensated  for  temperature, 
stem-graduated  thermometers,  tested  and  supplied  with  correction 
cards,  two  sling  psychrometers,  and  a Robinson  anemometer. 

From  the  Blue  Hill  Meteorological  Observatory,  Readville,  Mass., 
through  the  courtesy  of  A.  Lawrence  Rotcli,  esq.,  director,  I was  fur- 
nished, free  of  charge,  with  several  sulphuric-acid  condensers.  No- 
where, however,  could  I find  suitable  electrical  measuring  apparatus 
for  an  instantaneous  static  charge,  although  I made  search  in  New 
York,  and  afterwards  in  St.  Louis,  for  the  same. 

Mr.  A.  E.  Porter,  manager  of  the  Smith  Electrical  Works,  Pompton 
Lakes,  N.  J.,  lent  me,  without  any  charge  whatever,  eight  magneto 
machines,  that  is,  electrical  dischargers  or  so-called  dynamos,  for  use 
in  the  experiments;  and  these  dischargers,  of  the  most  perfect  con- 
struction, were  of  great  service.  By  this  public-spirited  act  on  the  part 
of  Mr.  Porter  and  his  company  an  amount  of  not  less  than  $230  was 
saved  to  the  appropriation. 

THE  START  FOR  THE  FIELD. 

On  the  3d  of  July  the  apparatus,  which  had  been  completed,  and  two 
tons  of  cast-iron  turnings  from  projectiles,  furnished  by  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment, were  shipped  by  freight  to  St.  Louis,  en  route  for  Midland  and  I 
sent  Mr.  Ellis  to  St.  Louis  to  make  arrangements  for  securing  other  ma- 
terials and  necessary  chemicals  in  that  city,  as  I had  ascertained  that 
they  could  be  obtained  there  with  economy,  considering  freight  charges. 

In  St.  Louis  there  were  bought  from  Meyer  Bros.  Drug  Company,  8 
tons  of  sulphuric  acid  in  drums,  1 ton  of  chlorate  of  potash  in  kegs, 
500  pounds  of  binoxide  of  manganese,  and  a number  of  casks  for  use  in 
connection  with  the  hydrogen  apparatus,  arrangement  being  made  for 
the  return  of  the  unused  material  and  empty  condensers.  From  George 
E.  Fritz  & Sons,  and  other  houses  in  St.  Louis,  there  were  purchased  5 
tons  of  cast-iron  borings  and  other  miscellaneous  materials  necessary. 

By  reason  of  delays  on  the  part  of  certain  firms  in  New  York,  in  the 
construction  and  shipment  of  special  grades  of  wire  and  kinds  of  ex- 
plosives, and  of  delay  on  the  part  of  firms  of  this  city  in  the  comple- 
tion of  an  oxygen  apparatus,  it  was  necessary  for  Mr.  Ellis  to  wait  in 
St.  Louis  until  the  24th  of  July.  Upon  their  receipt,  on  that  day,  they 
were  loaded  into  a freight  car,  together  with  the  materials  purchased 
in  St.  Louis,  and  were  shipped  to  Fort  Worth,  Tex. 


12 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


Meanwhile,  through  the  public  spirit  of  the  St.  Louis,  Iron  Mountain 
and  Southern  Railroad  and  its  attention  to  Southwestern  interests,  and 
by  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  George  0.  Smith,  free  transportation  had  been 
obtained  to  the  amount  of  $500. 

On  the  26th  of  July  Mr.  Ellis  proceeded  to  Fort  Worth  and  Dallas, 
where,  by  the  kindness  of  Mr.  John  A.  Grant,  general  manager  of  the 
Texas  and  Pacific  Railroad  and  the  interest  of  the  road  in  the  welfare 
of  Texas,  free  transportation  was  obtained  for  the  members  of  the  ex- 
pedition and  the  apparatus  to  the  amount  of  about  $300.  The  carload 
of  apparatus  was  then  shipped  to  Midland,  arriving  on  the  5th  of  Au- 
gust. 

Before  I left  Washington  I desired  to  gain  some  further  knowledge 
on  the  subject  of  explosives,  and  thought  that  I might  with  benefit 
consult  with  some  of  the  officers  at  the  artillery  school,  Fort  Monroe, 
Ya.  With  this  object  in  view  I went  there,  at  my  own  expense,  about 
the  middle  of  July,  but  learned  nothing  new  except  that  there  is  a very 
large  quantity  of  powder  stored  at  Fort  Warren  which  is  unservice- 
able for  military  purposes,  but  which  might  be  available  for  producing 
explosions  in  rainfall  experiments.  Subsequently . I had  an  interview 
with  the  Assistant  and  Acting  Secretary  of  War  and  discussed  with 
him  and  with  an  officer  of  the  Ordnance  Corps,  the  possibility  of  ob- 
taining a supply  of  this  powder,  but  without  coming  to  any  determina- 
tion, and  as  I was  occupied  with  many  other  matters  connected  with 
the  expedition,  and  busy  in  getting  the  remaining  material  together  for 
proper  shipment,  I did  not  pursue  the  subject  further.  I suggest,  how- 
ever, that  this  unserviceable  powder  might  be  employed  advantage- 
ously in  rainfall  operations  in  the  future. 

July  29,  the  balloon-maker  and  Mr.  Casler  arrived  at  Washington  with 
the  remainder  of  the  balloon  apparatus  and  various  appurtenances,  and 
on  the  30th,  accompanied  by  them  and  Mr.  Paul  E.  Draper,  I started 
for  Midland,  Tex. 

The  route  to  Midland  was  by  way  of  St.  Louis,  Little  Rock,  Texar- 
kana, and  Fort  Worth.  Arriving  at  St.  Louis,  I spent  a day  there  in 
the  collection  of  some  small  supplies,  and  had  a block  of  pur§  tin  rolled 
into  thin  sheets  for  the  electrical  kites. 

At  Thurber,  Tex.,  I met  Mr.  R.  D.  Hunter,  who  generously  sent  from 
his  coal  mines  to  Midland,  six  kegs  of  blasting  powder  for  use  in  the 
experiments. 

I reached  Midland  on  the  evening  of  August  5,  in  company  with  Mr. 
E.  W.  Rannells,  the  manager  of  Mr.  Morris’s  ranch,  who  had  joined  me 
en  route,  and  on  the  following  day  most  of  the  party  were  taken  in  vari- 
ous conveyances  to  the  headquarters  of  the  aC”  ranch.  Mr.  Ellis  had 
arrived  at  Midland  on  the  4th.  The  ranch  house  is  about  6 miles  north 
and  17  miles  west  of  Midland,  say,  in  latitude  32°  12'  R.  and  longitude 
102°  20/  W.,  and  the  elevation  above  the  sea  level  is  about  2,800  feet. 

There  had  been  a deficiency  of  rain  in  this  region  for  several  years,  as 
I was  informed,  and  during  the  past  eighteen  months  the  drought  had 
been  especially  severe. 

The  journey  of  23  miles  from  Midland  Station  to  the  ranch  house 
made  a strongly  negative  impression  upon  me,  as  regarding  the  possi- 
bility of  obtaining  any  rain  in  that  region.  The  day,  described  to  me 
as  a typical  day  there,  was  a very  hot  one.  Though  wTe  started  quite 
early  in  the  morning,  the  sun  shone  fiercely.  There  was  not  a fleck  of 
a cloud  visible  anywhere  in  the  sky.  The  ground  was  dry  with  the 
appearance  of  alkali  and  seemed  parched.  The  landscape  was  a gen- 
eral glare.  There  was  a strong  dry  wind  from  the  south,  which  seemed 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL.  13 

greedily  to  take  up  any  moisture  that  miglit  be  present  as  on  the  skin, 
leaving  the  skin  with  a feeling  of  parchment.  I was  assured  that  this 
was  but  one  of  a succession  of  scores  of  such  days  at  this  time  in  the 
morning;  though  later  in  the  day,  light  summer  clouds,  ball  of  cotton 
or  light  cumulus  clouds,  were  wont  to  make  their  appearance. 

While  I would  not  perform  the  experim  ; in  a wet  climate,  because 
I felt  that,  if  rain  followed,  the  fact  would  not  be  satisfactory  in  the 
sense  of  a result,  and  that  this  would  be  no  fair  test,  on  the  other 
hand,  during  my  ride  from  Midland,  I feared  that  I had  here  gone  to  the 
other  extreme,  and  that  the  test  would  not  be  fair  either;  that  no  local 
disturbance  under  such  conditions  as  here  existed  could  induce  the 
presence  of  moisture;  and  this  doubt  became  rather  a conviction  as  day 
after  day  of  the  same  kind  succeeded. 

IN  THE  FIELD. 

August  7 and  8,  Mr.  Ellis  and  Mr.  Casler,  with  men  in  the  employ  of 
Mr.  Nelson  Morris,  were  engaged  in  unloading  the  car,  and  on  the  7th, 
four  large  wagon  loads,  some  by  double  teams,  were  hauled  to  the  ranch. 
On  the  8th,  the  remainder  of  the  apparatus  and  material  was  loaded 
and  hauled  out,  excepting  6 drums  of  acid  (9,000  pounds)  and  some 
iron  (8,000  pounds),  which  material  was  stored  at  the  freight  depot. 
The  help  and  cartage  were  generously  supplied  by  Mr.  Morris. 

At  Midland  I ordered  two  large  tanks  to  be  built,  that  we  might  make 
hydrogen  more  rapidly  and  on  a larger  scale. 

On  the  7th,  being  myself  out  at  the  ranch,  I rode  over  the  ground  for 
a mile  and  a half  to  the  south  of  the  ranch  house  and  for  about  a mile 
to  the  east  and  west  thereof.  The  region  being  entirely  without  stream 
or  natural  pool,  every  ranch  is  supplied  with  numerous  wells  from  which 
water  is  pumped  into  surface  tanks  or  ponds  by  wind-wheel  pumps. 
Here  and  there  are  extensive  depressions,  called  by  the  herders  u draws,” 
which,  being  dry,  showed  white  alkaline  efflorescence. 

I deem  it  proper,  at  this  point,  to  state  that,  notwithstanding  the 
barren  appearance  of  the  region,  the  soil  seems  exceptionally  rich  and 
strong,  even  on  the  knolls.  This  may  be  from  the  fact  that  the  soil  here 
is  not  leached  nor  are  the  knolls  denuded  of  topsoil  by  great  rainfall. 
In  spots  where  the  land  is  artificially  watered  the  soil  is  very  highly 
productive.  I was  particularly  impressed  with  the  abundance  and  size 
and  the  fine  quality  and  flavor  of  fruit  grown  at  and  about  Midland, 
the  peaches  and  pears  being  very  fine,  and  watermelons  weighing  more 
that  70  pounds  being  common.  If  the  region  could  only  be  supplied 
with  water  there  would  be  little  left  to  be  desired  there. 

I determined  to  place  my  material  in  three  parallel  lines  some  what 
less  than  half  a mile  apart,  the  lines  being  concave  toward  the  ranch 
house,  and  extending  to  about  equal  distances  to  the  east  and  west 
thereof,  the  ranch  house  being  about  the  center  of  the  position.  In  the 
front  line,  that  is,  in  the  line  farthest  to  the  south  of  the  ranch  house, 
namely,  in  the  front  thereof,  between  the  ranch  house  and  Midland,  at 
a distance  somewhat  less  than  50  yards  apart,  I placed  about  sixty  short 
guns,  something  like  mortars,  improvised  from  6-inch  well  tubing  sawed 
into  lengths  of  about  feet,  and  from  bell-mouthed  wagon-axle  boxes, 
all  of  which  were  set  with  one  end  in  the  ground  at  an  angle  of  about 
45°,  leaving  the  outer  end  free;  and,  in  addition,  I made  several  mines 
or  blasts  by  putting  sticks  of  dynamite  and  rackarock  into  prairie-dog 
and  badger  holes.  The  mortars  were  afterwards  loaded  with  the  blast- 
ing powder  kindly  given  me  by  Mr.  Hunter,  sod  and  earth  rammed 


14 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


down  hard,  supplying  the  wadding,  and  blasting  fuse  inserted  from 
the  top  or  bottom,  as  was  most  convenient,  or  electrical-fuse  caps, 
affording  the  means  through  which  to  ignite  the  charge.  Where  elec- 
trical-fuse caps  were  employed,  the  gun  was  to  be  fired  from  an  electri- 
cal discharger.  The  setting  of  these  tubes,  or  guns,  was  a matter  of 
considerable  labor  and  consumed  much  time,  as  the  ground  was  very 
hard. 

On  the  next  line  I intended  to  place  kites,  each  kite  to  be  in  a posi- 
tion directly  in  the  rear  of  the  central  point  between  the  two  guns  in 
front  of  it;  and  on  the  rear  line — a line,  however,  much  shorter  than 
either  of  the  other  lines — and  behind  the  house,  I desired  to  send  up 
and  explode  balloons. 

The  tubes  were  not  all  set  at  one  time,  some  being  set  on  the  13th, 
14th,  and  15th. 

The  whole  party  engaged  at  different  times  in  making  the  kites,  and, 
as  they  were  completed  they  were  carried  out  to  their  positions. 

As  it  would  have  required  a large  force  of  men  to  fly  all  these  kites, 
if  each  kite  had  to  be  held  by  a man,  it  was  intended  to  fasten  them  to 
the  mesquite  bushes,  the  cliapparal  bushes,  and  the  catsclaw  bushes, 
with  which  the  prairie  is  scantily  supplied. 

The  reason  that  I chose  the  rear  line  for  the  balloons  was  that  there  is 
a kind  of  meadow  in  the  rear  of  the  house,  extending  more  than  a mile 
to  the  left,  or  east,  thereof,  and  some  distance  to  the  right  or  west,  and, 
being  supplied  with  grass  and  being  free  from  the  thorny  bushes,  there 
would  be  less  danger  of  tearing  any  balloon  in  inflating  it,  or  in 
transporting  it  from  the  place  where  it  had  been  inflated  to  the  place 
where  it  might  be  desired  to  let  it  rise.  There  is  a well  at  the  ranch 
house ; but  the  water  is  very  alkaline,  and  I feared  that  the  use  of  this 
water  in  making  hydrogen  might  entail  loss  of  acid  or  detract  from  its 
efficiency  by  some  neutralization;  and  so  I deemed  it  best  to  set  up  the 
hydrogen  apparatus  at  a well  on  this  meadow,  where  the  water  is  less 
alkaline,  about  a mile  to  the  left,  east-northeast  of  the  house;  it  being 
intended  to  inflate  the  balloons  there,  send  up  some  from  that  place, 
and  carry  the  rest  to  the  westward  along  the  meadow. 

The  ranch  house  is  shown  in  the  accompanying  photograph  marked  1 : 

The  well  which  I chose  for  the  situation  of  the  hydrogen  apparatus 
is  shown  in  the  annexed  photograph,  marked  II,  where,  also,  may  be 
seen  the  hydrogen  apparatus  in  operation,  with  a balloon  in  process  of 
inflation. 

On  the  9th  of  August  I was  joined  by  Mr.  Powers,  author  of  “War 
and  the  Weather,”  whom  I had  invited,  at  the  expense  of  the  appropria- 
tion, to  be  present  at  and  assist  in  the  experiments. 

On  the  evening  of  this  day,  August  9,  a trial  of  the  power  of  the 
“ rackarock”  was  made,  at  which  a number  of  charges  were  exploded 
and  the  force  was  found  to  be  very  great.  There  was  great  concussion. 
The  explosions  were  made  at  about  a mile  to  the  southeast  of  the  ranch 
house,  and  there  was  a strong  wind  blowing  from  the  southwest. 

On  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  August  10,  a very  heavy  rain  fell, 
coming  fr  om  the  northeast  and  extending  west  and  southeast.  The 
rain  continued  for  about  two  hours,  causing  water  to  run  into  the 
“ draws,”  and  the  plains  to  be  drenched.  The  amount  was  not  accu- 
rately measured,  as  I was  not  yet  prepared ; but  it  was  estimated  at 
about  an  inch. 

Maps  of  the  Weather  Bureau  being  received  later,  it  was  seen  that 
on  the  map  of  August  7,  8 p.  m.,  the  forecast  to  8 p.  m.  of  August  8, 
predicted  light  showers  on  the  Gulf  coast  of  Texas;  that  the  map  of 


• The  Ranch  House. 


II.  The  Well  or  East  Mill. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


15 


August  8,  8 a.  m.,  showed  a shower  at  Palestine,  toward  Galveston,  in 
the  preceding  twelve  hours,  the  wind  being  northwest;  no  rainfall  at 
Abilene  nor  west  of  Abilene,  Abilene  (Weatherford)  being  the  nearest 
weather  station  to  Midland,  and  about  140  miles  east  thereof,  and 
Palestine  being  farther  from  Abilene  (direction  east  by  south),  than 
Galveston  is  from  Palestine  (direction  south  by  east) ; that  the  map  of 
August  9,  8 p.  m.,  showed  a Gulf  rain  extending,  on  the  south  and  east, 
from  Galveston  to  New  Orleans,  and,  on  the  north  and  east,  from  west 
of  Palestine  to  Vicksburg;  no  rainfall  at  Abilene  nor  west  thereof; 
that,  on  this  same  map  the  forecast  to  8 p.  m.  of  August  9,  predicted 
showers  in  the  eastern  portion  and  on  the  coast  of  Texas ; that  the  map  of 
August  9,  8 p.  in.,  showed  a rain  in  the  eastern  portion  and  on  the 
coast  of  Texas,  the  rain  not  extending  so  far  west  and  northwest  as  that 
shown  on  the  map  of  August  8,  8 p.  m.;  that,  on  the  map  of  August 
9,  8 p.  m.,  the  forecast  to  8 p.  m.  of  August  10,  predicted  local  rains  in 
the  southeastern  with  fair  weather  in  the  northwestern  portion  of 
Texas;  that  the  map  of  August  10,  8 a.  m.,  showed  a local  rain  at 
Abilene  in  the  preceding  twelve  hours,  the  wind  being  south  (the 
actual  time  of  the  rainfall  was  between  12:20  a.  m.  and  4 a.  m.  of  the 
10th);  and  that  the  map  of  August  10,  8 p.  m.,  showed  clear  weather  at 
Abilene  and  vicinity  from  8 a.  m.  to  8 p.  m.  of  the  10th. 

At  the  time  that  the  rain  came  at  the  ranch  it  seemed  that  the  explosions 
might  have  had  some  effect  in  producing  the  storm;  but  when  I learned 
that  there  had  been  a heavy  shower  at  Abilene  that  morning  I attached 
no  significance  to  the  heavy  rain  at  the  ranch  as  resulting  from  the  ex- 
plosions. 

But  I found  it  to  be  of  common  knowledge  along  the  Texas  and  Pa- 
cific Railroad  that  while  rains  are  not  infrequent  at  Abilene  and  even 
as  far  west  toward  Midland  as  Big  Springs  (only  39  miles  from  Mid- 
land), it  will  rain  at  these  places  time  and  again  without  the  rain  falling 
at  Midland  and  vicinity ; and  I was  also  soon  informed  by  many  per- 
sons from  Midland  and  vicinity,  and  by  the  most  experienced  and  ob- 
servant herders  on  the  ranch,  and  ascertained  it  to  be  a fact,  that  it 
was  a common  sight  to  see  heavy  rain  or  nimbus  clouds,  evident  rain 
storms,  passing  over  the  locality,  on  their  way  somewhere  else,  and 
without  parting  with  a drop  of  water  to  this  ground;  and  it  occurred 
to  me  that  I might  have  observed  the  reason  for  this  during  my  ride 
from  Midland  station.  The  ground  is  so  heated  and  dried  by  the  sun 
and  the  dry  wind  that,  by  radiation,  a very  thick  stratum  of  superin- 
cumbent air  is  kept  hot,  and  this  exerting  a repellent  action  no  moisture 
can  be  precipitated.  The  dry  stratum  may  even  take  up  considerable 
moisture  from  above  without  letting  it  get  to  the  ground.  One  might 
as  well  expect  moisture  from  the  upper  part  of  a steam- filled  room  to 
be  deposited  on  a hot  stove  therein.  There  is  no  dew  at  night  in  this 
region.  There  can  not  be,  because  the  ground  is  warmer  than  the  air. 
That  is  to  say,  there  is  no  dew  unless  the  ground  has  been  cooled  by  a 
rain  or  a norther,  and  it  does  not  generally  remain  cool  enough  for 
moisture  to  be  deposited  longer  than  one  night.  Unless  the  rain  clouds 
are  very  heavy,  it  would  seem  that  the  hot  and  dry  layer  of  air  would 
have  to  be  broken  up  ere  there  can  be  precipitation  of  moisture  upon 
the  ground,  and  it  may  be  that  the  explosions  of  the  9th  broke  up  such 
a layer  by  a widely  extended  displacement  and  replacement,  with  com- 
mingling of  air  currents. 

In  this  connection  I wish  to  mention  a phenomenon  observed  sev- 
eral times  from  the  ranch-house  porch,  facing  south.  The  southerly 
wind,  bringing  cumulus  clouds  toward  us,  they  were  often,  at  low  alti- 
tude, seen  to  vanish  as  they  approached,  thus  showing  the  conversion 


16 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


or  reconversion  of  moisture  into  vapor,  probably  through  the  influence 
of  the  dry  and  heated  surface-stratum  of  air. 

A very  interesting  and  singular  climatic  feature  observable  in  this 
region  is,  that  the  surface  currents  are  very  much  more  rapid  than  the 
higher  currents,  which  are  sometimes  of  different  directions,  as  evi- 
denced by  the  motion  of  clouds,  and,  as  will  hereafter  appear,  by  the 
motion  of  balloons. 

On  the  evening  of  August  11,  Mr.  Curtis,  arrived  at  the  ranch  house. 

On  the  next  day  Mr.  Curtis  set  up  the  anemometer,  at  about  100  feet 
from  the  ground,  placed  the  pressure  and  heat-measuring  instruments 
in  suitable  situation,  and  instituted  a regular  system  of  observation, 
taking  observations  daily  at  7 a.  in.,  2 p.  m.,  and  7 p.  m.,  central  time. 
He  was  most  exact  in  the  time  of  his  observations.  I am  sorry  that 
he  was  with  the  expedition  so  very  short  a time,  arriving  after  the  first 
rain  and  leaving  before  the  heavy  Midland  experiment.  Mr.  Curtis 
has  made  me  no  narrative  report;  but,  upon  my  calling  on  him  for  a 
report,  has  furnished  me  with  the  following  tabular  statement: 

Report  of  tri-daily  observation  made  August  12  to  24,  1891,  at  the  “C”  ranch,  16  miles 
north  and  12  miles  west  of  Midland , county  of  Andrews,  State  of  Texas. 


[Latitude,  32°  14';  longitude,  102°  12'.  Local  time"  is  forty-nine  minutes  slower  than  Central  time, 
hence  7 a.  m.,  Central  time=6h  llm  a.  m.  mean  local  time;  2 p.  m.  Central  time=  lh  11“’  p.  m.  mean  local 
time.] 


Date. 

7 a.  m.,  Central  time. 

2 p.  m.,  Central  time. 

7 p.  m.,  Central  time. 

Temperature. 

Dew 

point. 

Temperature. 

Dew 

point. 

Temperature. 

Dew 

point. 

Dry 

bulb. 

Wet 

bulb. 

Dry 

bulb. 

Wet 

bulb. 

Dry 

bulb. 

Wet 

bulb. 

August  12  

87.5 

66.1 

55 

79.3 

66.8 

61 

August  13 

68.5 

64.0 

62 

87.7 

65.1 

52 

August  14 

68.0 

64.2 

62 

90.0 

68.6 

58 

89.0 

63.6 

48 

August  15 

71.0 

61.4 

56 

92.7 

66.  4 

52 

89.0 

64.4 

50 

August  16 

69.  8 

63.4 

60 

88.0 

69.5 

60 

85.0 

67.0 

58 

August  17 

69.8 

62.6 

59 

89.9 

69.1 

59 

83.8 

68.9 

62 

August  18 

71.6 

66.6 

64 

85.0 

69.0 

62 

73.9 

67.8 

65 

August  19 

70.9 

66.9 

65 

91.0 

70.3 

61 

90.0 

68.6 

58 

August  20 

76.0 

65.  4 

60 

96.0 

69.  6 

57 

82.0 

66.0 

58 

August  21 

68.8 

62.6 

59 

95.8 

69.6 

57 

93.0 

66.4 

51 

August  22 

62.  6 

60. 1 

58 

65.7 

57.6 

52 

August  23 

51.0 

47.5 

45 

78.4 

57.4 

41 

75.3 

55.2 

39 

August  24 

60.4 

51.4 

44 

88.9 

63.6 

48 

Date. 

Precipitation. 

Wind. 

Time  of  be- 
ginning. 

Time  of 
ending. 

Total  amount  of 
rain. 

7 a.  m. 

2 p.m. 

7 p.  m. 

Direction 

from. 

Miles 

per 

hour. 

Direc- 

tion 

from. 

Miles 

per 

hour. 

Direc- 

tion 

from. 

Miles 

per 

hour. 

Aug.  12.. . 

A n o'  1 ^ 

SE.... 

7 

SE.... 

SE.... 

SE.... 

SE 

SE. ... 

SW... 

SE.... 

S 

15 

7 

7 

8 
5 

5 

7 

Calm  ... 

0 

0 

3 

0 

2 

4 

10 

12 

0 

17 

s::::: 

SE.... 

SE.... 

S 

""l2 

14 

13 

7 

5 

3 

11 

5 

22 

sw 

Aug.  16. . . 
Aug.  17*  £ 

Aug.  18.  j 

A n o*  IQ 

3:15 p.  m.. 
3 :35  ? _ „ 
8:30  5P*m- 
10:30  a.  m. 
11:15  a.  m. 
4:50  p.  m. 

3 :25 p.  m.. 
C4:40 

Inappreciable. . . 
do ) 

Calm  . . . 

E 

£Dur.  night 
10 :32  a.  m. 
11:17  a.m . 
5:30 p.m . 

....do ] 

Sprinkle 4 

0.02  inch ) 

SE 

S 

sw... 
s 

SE.... 
XE ... 

S 

Aug.  20 1 . . 
Aug  21 

4:58  p.m.. 

9:00  p.  m. . 

Inappreciable. . . 

s 

Calm  ... 
XF 

SW... 

s 

18 

3 

Aug. 22... 

7 :40  a.  m.. 

About  11 
a.  m. 

Inappreciable; 
fine  mist. 

SE.... 

6 

A n nr 

s 

8 

SW... 

* At  intervals.  t Sprinkle  at  intervals. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


17 


Report  of  tri-daily  observation  made  August  12  to  24,  1891,  at  the  11  C”  ranch,  16  miles 
north  and  12  miles  west  of  Midland,  county  of  Andrews,  Sate  of  Texas — Continued. 


Date. 


August  12 
August  13 
August  14 
August  15 
August  16 
August  17 
August  18 
August  19 
August  20 
August  21 
August  22 
August  23 
August  24 


* From  barograph  curve. 


Aneroid  barometer. 

Total  wind  movement  in  miles. 

Central  time. 

Central  time. 

7 a.  m. 

2 p.m. 

7 p.  m. 

7 a.  m. 

2 p.  m. 

7 p.  m 

27. 184 

27. 152 

60 

27.  201 

*27!  180 

27! 090 

48 

t51 

27. 165 

27.  090 

27.  032 

54 

t71 

27. 117 

27.  065 

27.  022 

58 

54 

40 

27. 153 

27. 100 

27.  050 

98 

37 

75 

*27. 130 

27. 100 

27.  030 

56 

76 

68 

27. 110 

27.  045 

27.  030 

59 

74 

73 

27.  060 

26.  985 

26. 912 

55 

81 

53 

27. 021 

26.  948 

26.  970 

98 

82 

57 

27.  030 

26.  952 

26. 887 

61 

50 

40 

27. 177 

27.  250 

27.  23 

130 

84 

27.  320 

27.  230 

27.12 

fill 

29 

27. 102 

26.  98 

92 

117 

t For  12  hours.  \ For  19  hours. 


Geo.  E.  Curtis, 

Meteorologist. 

Observations  were  also  made  by  myself  at  other  times  than  those 
given  in  the  above  table,  and  it  is  to  be  noted  that  observations  taken 
from  the  anemometer  at  regular  intervals  only  would  not  give  a correct 
idea  of  the  windy  nature  of  the  region  and  the  wind  velocity,  since  the 
wind  generally  blows  in  gusts.  It  is  very  seldom  calm,  excepting  in 
the  night  and  early  in  the  morning.  The  prevailing  winds  are  southerly. 

There  was  no  firing  whatever  on  the  10th  and  11th,  and  though  the 
map  of  the  Weather  Bureau  of  8 p.  m.,  August  11,  shows  a rainfall  at 
Abilene  of  2 inches,  the  rain  being  of  very  great  extent  also,  there 
was  no  rain  at  the  “0”  ranch  subsequent  to  the  rain  of  the  10  th,  nor 
did  it  rain  there  on  the  12th,  13th,  14th,  or  15th. 

During  the  11th,  12th,  13th,  14th  and  15th,  work  was  done  in  getting 
the  apparatus  and  material  into  place  and  condition.  Strenuous  efforts 
were  made  to  get  the  oxygen  and  hydrogen  generators  into  proper  oper- 
ation. The  oxygen  apparatus  was  found  to  be  defective  especially  when 
exposed  to  the  high  winds,  and  great  delay  resulted  also  from  the  neces- 
sity of  putting  together  and  setting  up  the  large  hydrogen-generating 
tanks  and  waiting  for  them  to  soak  and  become  gas-tight.  Balloons 
were  partly  filled,  but  were  damaged.  Kites  were  sent  up  on  the 
middle  line;  but,  owing  to  the  character  of  the  wind,  they  were  soon 
broken  in  body  or  broke  their  strings  and  were  blown  miles  away. 

In  the  afternoon  of  August  12,  at  about  5 o’clock,  a few  kites  were 
got  up  close  to  the  house,  each  carrying  a one-half  pound  stick  of  dyna- 
mite. The  air  was  so  nearly  calm  that  a kite  could  be  kept  up  only  a 
few  minutes.  Each  kite  was  held  by  a cord  from  its  body  connecting 
with  a two-conductor  insulated  wire  passing  to  the  electrical  discharger 
on  the  ground,  and  the  dynamite  stick  was  suspended  about  20  feet 
from  the  kite  by  the  wires  of  an  electric  fuse,  the  lower  end  of  the  wire 
being  wrapped  about  the  stick  to  sustain  it  with  the  cap  inserted  into 
the  stick,  and  the  upper  ends  of  the  wires  connected  with  free  clean 
ends  of  the  two-conductor  wire.  At  about  5:45,  the  wind  blew  up  sud- 
denly very  strong  from  the  southeast,  bringing  clouds  which  were  very 
dense  over  the  southern  sky.  The  velocity  of  the  wind  was  30  miles 
an  hour.  There  was  no  rainfall. 


S.  Ex.  45 2 


18 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


On  the  13th,  Dr.  Rosell,  of  the  Patent  Office,  and  Mr.  Keefer,  from 
my  office  in  Washington,  arrived.  The  party  was  now  complete  and  is 
shown  in  the  annexed  photograph,  marked  III,  as  on  the  porch  of  the 
ranch  house,  Mr.  Bannels  and  the  cook  being  on  the  extreme  left  of 
the  party  with  Mr.  Powers  next,  a herder  (behind  whom  is  Mr.  Ellis), 
and  Mr.  Keefer  being  on  the  right,  and  the  rest  of  the  party  between ; 
the  gentleman  dressed  in  the  sash  being  Mr.  Curtis. 

There  was  no  firing  on  the  13th.  Time  was  consumed  in  attention  to 
the  oxygen  and  hydrogen  generators  and  placing  guns.  About  this 
time  Prof.  Longuemare  and  Capt.  Juan  Hart  came  as  a committee  from 
El  Paso,  bringing  a letter  from  the  mayor  of  El  Paso,  Hon.  Richard 
Caples,  to  urge  me  to  go  to  El  Paso  and  operate  there. 

On  the  14th  a stick  of  dynamite  was  fired  close  to  the  house  in  the 
afternoon.  The  13th  and  14th  were  clear,  dry  days. 

On  the  15th,  in  the  evening,  a few  sticks  of  dynamite  were  fired  singly, 
but  without  apparent  effect. 

I would  say  that  the  firing  on  the  12th,  13th,  14th,  and  15th  was  on  a 
very  small  scale  (very  much  less  in  concussion  than  that  of  the  9th), 
because  it  was  not  desired  to  expend  much  of  any  particular  explosive 
until  all  should  be  ready  for  a combined  and  full  operation.  What  fir- 
ing was  then  done  was  mostly  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  how  best 
to  explode  dynamite  in  the  air,  tb  find  out  whether,  when  attached  to  a 
kite- connection  it  would  break  that  connection,  and  to  learn  how  far  it 
should  be  from  the  kite. 

The  morning  of  the  16th  was  calm,  and,  with  one  of  the  herders,  I 
went  on  horseback  to  the  southwest  of  the  house,  to  the  front  line,  and, 
carrying  a quantity  of  blasting  powder  and  dynamite  and  rackarock, 
we  loaded  some  of  the  guns  to  learn  how  best  to  fire  them.  We  also 
experimented  in  firing  dynamite  and  rackarock,  that  I r ight  learn 
whether  it  was  best,  so  far  as  concussive  effect  is  concerned,  to  put  it 
into  the  ground  or  to  fire  it  above  ground.  We  fired  the  gns  planted 
in  the  ground,  as  alreaded  described,  and  loaded  with  th°>  blasting 
powder.  The  concussive  effect  upon  the  air  was  slight,  but  considera- 
ble smoke  was  produced.  We  next  loaded  with  rackarock.  The  con- 
cussive effect  on  the  air  upon  discharge  was  greater  than  from  the 
blasting  powder,  but  was  not  very  great.  The  gun,  however,  was  de- 
stroyed. The  piece  of  wrought-iron  pipe  constituting  it  was  fimbriated 
about  half  its  length. 

We  next  fired  dynamite  and  rackarock  blasts  in  dog  holes.  The  tear- 
ing up  and  shaking  of  the  ground  was  great  and  astonishing,  but  the 
concussive  effect  upon  the  air  was  not  great.  There  was  not  much  noise 
from  the  explosions.  We  next  exploded  charges  of  dynamite  on  large 
flat  stones  on  the  ground.  The  stones  were  broken  and  the  concussive 
effect  on  the  air  was  strong.  We  next  exploded  charges  of  rackarock 
on  large  flat  stones  on  the  ground.  The  concussive  effect  on  the  air  was 
greater.  These  experiments  determined  me  to  produce  all  explosions 
thereafter,  excepting  where  I had  my  guns  and  mines,  above  the  surface 
of  the  ground. 

Starting  to  return  to  the  house  at  about  10  o’clock  I noticed  that 
cumulus  clouds,  which  heretofore  had  never  made  their  appearance  be- 
fore half  past  11  or  12  o’olock  in  the  morning,  were  already  thick  in  the 
southeast  whence  the  wind  now  began  to  blow,  moderately  at  first,  but 
soon  increasing  to  a stiff  breeze.  Soon  after  noon  the  sky  was  nearly 
covered  with  large  round  and  darkened  cumulus  clouds. 

Great  delay  had  resulted  from  the  necessity  of  putting  together  the 
large  hydrogen  tanks  and  it  was  then  necessary  to  wait  for  them  to 


III.  The  party, 


IV.  Shelter  for  oxygen  apparatus,  with  party  at  work, 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL.  19 

soak  and  become  tight.  No  experiment  would  have  been  made  until 
everything  was  ready  for  a full  test  but  that  a number  of  interested 
persons  had  come  to  the  ranch,  some  of  them  from  a considerable  dis- 
tance, to  witness  the  experiments,  and  I desired,  if  possible,  to  show 
them  something  of  the  process  and  methods  of  operation;  therefore, 
early  in  the  afternoon  of  August  10,  the  inflation  of  a 10-foot  balloon 
was  begun. 

The  cloudiness  continued  to  increase  and  the  filling  of  the  balloon 
proceeded  slowly,  owing  to  the  defects  in  the  oxygen-generating  appa- 
tus  and  for  want  of  a suitable  shelter.  A rude  shelter  was  afterward 
constructed,  as  shown  in  the  annexed  photograph  marked  IV. 

I directed  Dr.  Eosell  to  begin  preparation  of  ground  explosions  of 
rackarock,  in  order  to  experiment  under  these  conditions.  The  racka- 
rock  was  tied  in  bundles  of  from  five  to  twelve  cartridges,  with  an  elec- 
trical fuse  in  the  middle.  These  bundles  were  suspended  3 or  4 feet 
from  the  ground,  on  mesquite  or  other  bushes,  and  were  exploded  from 
time  to  time  from  one  of  the  dynamos  or  electrical  dischargers.  At  3 :15 
p.  m.  rain  began  to  fall  from  these  cumulus  clouds  overhead  for  about 
five  minutes.  The  amount  of  rainfall  was  reported  to  me  as  inappreci- 
able. About  50  pounds  of  rackarock  were  exploded.  About  fifteen 
minutes  after  6 p.  m.,  the  balloon  having  been  filled,  a blasting  fuse,  to 
burn  about  three  minutes  (much  too  long  a fuse),  was  inserted,  and, 
after  about  half  an  hour’s  delay,  and  some  difficulty  in  moving  the  bal- 
loon a short  distance  from  the  spot  where  it  was  filled,  owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  wind  was  buffeting  it  about,  blowing  at  about  the  rate  of 
15  miles  an  hour,  the  fuse  was  lighted  by  Dr.  Rosell  and  the  balloon 
was  set  free.  It  rose  rapidly,  but  passed  with  great  apparent  speed  to 
the  northwest.  At  the  height  of  a little  over  half  a mile  it  moved  to  the 
eastward,  and  there,  at  the  height  of  about  a mile,  began  moving  south, 
when,  at  a distance  of  about  2 miles  from  the  place  where  it  was  let  go, 
and  at  the  height  of  a little  over  a mile,  it  exploded.  I believe  that  the 
balloon  when  it  exploded  was  a little  over  2 miles  from  the  ranch  house. 
These  distances  are  estimated,  but  were  estimated  by  the  balloonist 
with  the  eye  of  an  experienced  aeronaut.  It  was  noticeable  that  after 
the  balloon  had  risen  to  the  height  of  about  half  a mile  its  lateral  move- 
ment was  much  less  rapid.  Owing  to  the  strong  wind  which  was  blow- 
ing from  our  direction  toward  the  balloon  when  it  exploded  and  the 
distance  at  which  it  exploded,  the  sound  was  quite  faint.  It  was  the 
intention  to  ascertain  the  distance  of  the  balloon,  when  it  should  ex- 
plode, from  the  place  whence  it  started  by  observation  of  the  flash  and 
counting  the  seconds  from  the  time  of  the  flash  to  the  report  of  the  ex- 
plosion, but  from  an  oversight  this  was  not  done. 

The  explosion  of  the  balloon  was  not  accompanied  by  any  precipita- 
tion, nor  was' there  rainfall  immediately  thereafter.  At  8 o’clock,  how- 
ever, heavy  rain  clouds  were  seen  to  form  in  the  west- southwest  and 
rain  fell  from  them  heavily,  accompanied  by  lightning.  These  rain 
clouds  appeared  as  an  isolated  mass,  and  the  precipitation  seemed  to 
dissipate  them.  There  was  no  rain  at  the  ranch  house.  Late  that  night 
the  wind  backed  to  the  east  and  blew  a gale. 

The  maps  of  the  Weather  Bureau  of  the  14th,  15th,  16th,  and  17tli 
and  the  map  of  8 a.  m.  of  the  18th  show  no  rain  nor  indications  of 
rain  during  this  period  up  to  8 p.  m.  of  August  18. 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th  there  was  dew  on  the  grass  for  the  first 
time.  About  10  o’clock  on  this  morning,  the  wind  being  east,  the 
ground  batteries  having  been  connected  by  wires  to  the  electrical  dis- 
chargers, heavy  explosions  were  made  at  frequent  intervals  and  some 
S.  Ex.  5 5 


20 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


of  the  blasts  were  fired.  Mr.  Ellis,  Dr.  Bosell,  Mr.  Draper,  and  Mr. 
Keefer  tied  rackarock  cartridges  into  bundles  about  a central  stick  of 
dynamite  containing  the  cap,  bung  them  as  bigk  as  possible  upon  tbe 
bushes,  and  discharged  them  with  very  powerful  concussive  effect. 

At  this  point  I would  mention  a peculiarity  of  rackarock  as  compared 
with  dynamite.  If  two  dynamite  sticks  were  laid  upon  the  ground,  say 
18  inches  apart,  and  one  stick  was  fired  by  an  electrical  fuse  cap,  the 
other  stick  would  always  explode  also ; whereas,  if  two  rackarock  car- 
tridges were  laid  at  the  same  distance  apart  and  only  one  was  fired, 
the  other  would  not  explode.  The  rackarock  cartridges  might  even  be 
placed  within  6 inches  of  one  another  without  the  firing  of  the  one  ex- 
ploding the  other. 

I am  informed  that  it  has  been  stated  that  the  first  explosion  on  this 
day  took  place  in  the  evening.  I can  only  say  that  the  statement  is 
erroneous. 

The  morning  was  very  clear,  except  that  cumulus  clouds  had  begun 
to  form  at  10  o’clock  in  the  forenoon,  about  two  hours  earlier  than  usual. 
Early  in  the  afternoon  the  sky  was  almost  covered  with  cumulus  clouds, 
and  there  was  a strong  wind  of  about  15  miles  an  hour  from  the  east 
and  southeast.  Between  3 and  4 o’clock  in  the  afternoon,  heavy  storm- 
clouds  were  visible  in  the  west.  The  firing  continued  and  the  wind 
was  southeast.  The  storm  went  around  to  the  south  and  heavy  rain 
could  be  seen  in  the  south  pastures  of  the  ranch,  which  covered  an  area 
of  about  500  square  miles,  and  some  of  the  men  who  were  engaged  in 
the  explosions,  at  a point  about  a mile  south  of  the  ranch-house,  were 
soon  driven  into  the  house  by  rain.  The  rain  was  accompanied  by 
thunder  and  lightning,  but  was  much  heavier  to  the  south  and  southwest 
than  at  the  ranch-house,  extending  to  Midland.  In  going  to  Midland 
from  the  ranch-house  on  the  18th,  from  about  2 miles  from  headquarters 
to  Midland,  the  roads  were  heavy  with  mud.  The  heavy  rain-clouds 
did  not  seem  to  come  directly  before  the  wind,  but  seemed  to  be  whirled 
by  eddies  toward  the  zenith.  The  rain  extended  to  the  ranch-house, 
where  it  began  to  fall  about  half-past  4.  The  rain  at  the  ranch-house, 
however,  was  light,  so  that  it  was  reported  to  me  as  not  measurable. 
In  the  south  and  southwest,  however,  the  rain  could  be  seen  falling  in 
torrents.  At  the  ranch-house  itself  the  appearance  of  storm  was  very 
strong,  and  heavy  storm-clouds  extended  to  the  northwest  far  beyond 
the  ranch-house,  where  rain  wTas  also  seen  to  fall  in  torrents. 

Between  4 and  5 o’clock  one  of  the  electrical  kites  was  sent  up,  and 
managed  by  Mr.  Draper.  The  kite  soon  became  highly  charged  with 
electricity  and,  being  connected  with  one  of  the  sulphuric- acid  con- 
densers, a spark  of  over  half  an  inch  was  obtained. 

The  form  of  kite  employed,  being  one  supplied  with  bands  of  tin-foil, 
is  shown  in  the  annexed  photograph,  marked  Y,  where  also  appears 
other  electrical  apparatus  used  by  the  expedition. 

I would  state  here  that  it  was  my  intention  to  send  up  an  electrical 
kite  at  the  same  time  as  and  in  proper  juxtaposition  with  balloons,  the 
object  being  to  ascertain,  if  possible,  what  might  be  the  static  electrical 
condition  of  the  atmosphere  previous  to  an  explosion;  then  to  recognize 
what,  if  any,  electrical  effect  may  accompany  an  explosion,  and,  finally, 
whether  any  electrical  effect  succeeded  the  explosion  as  the  result 
thereof;  but  partly  owing  to  the  great  difficulties  with  which  I had  to 
contend  from  the  high  and  irregular  winds  and  partly  from  other  un- 
foreseen causes,  I was  not  able  to  do  anything  of  importance  in  this  re- 
spect. I suggest  trials  in  this  line. 

Between  the  night  of  the  16th  and  the  evening  of  the  17th  there  were 


An  electrical  kite. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


21 


exploded  about  200  pounds  of  dynamite  and  rackarock  and  525  cubic 
feet  of  oxy-hydrogen  gas.  Between  5 and  6 o’clock  in  the  evening  some 
more  rackarock  was  fired,  the  wind  being  then  strong  from  the  south- 
east, but  the  firing  was  not  followed  by  rainfall  at  the  house.  The 
storm  seemed  to  have  passed  over  to  the  northwest,  where  it  was  very 
dark  and  where  rain  was  seen  to  fall.  Soon  after  the  firing  the  wind 
went  around  completely,  and  between  6 and  7 o’clock  thunder-heads 
and  lightning  were  seen  in  the  southeast,  and  the  storm  from  here 
backed  to  the  north.  Before  8 o’clock  lightning  was  seen  in  the  north- 
east as  well  as  in  the  southeast,  the  entire  sky  overhead  became  dark- 
ened with  storm-clouds,  and  the  wind  changed  to  the  south-southeast. 
Preparations  were  then  made  to  fire  some  dynamite.  At  half  past  8 a 
number  of  sticks  were  fastened  together  and  exploded.  Directly  there- 
upon there  was  a light  dash  of  rain  from  the  clouds  immediately  over- 
head, but  it  lasted  only  a few  moments.  Explosions  of  rackarock  were 
also  made  at  intervals  during  the  evening,  and  the  sky  being  heavy 
with  clouds,  each  explosion  was  followed  by  a spatter  or  flurry  of  rain. 
Between  10  and  11  o’clock  a light  drizzling  rain  set  in,  and  it  was  driz- 
zling when  I retired,  about  12  o’clock;  but  the  next  morning  I was  in- 
formed, to  my  surprise,  that  the  rain-gauge  showed  no  measurable 
quantity. 

On  the  morning  of  the  18th  the  sky  was  completely  covered  with 
stratus  clouds,  and  between  10  and  11,  and  11  and  12  there  were 
sprinkles  of  rain.  In  the  afternoon,  between  2 and  3 o’clock,  there  was 
a strong  wind  of  about  13  miles  per  hour  from  the  south  and  a heavy 
storm  was  seen  in  the  east,  where  thunder  was  heard  soon  after  3 o’clock 
in  the  afternoon.  I then  directed  the  firing  of  rackarock  and  the  ex- 
plosions began  about  4 o’clock  and  were  kept  up  at  intervals.  In  all, 
about  90  pounds  were  exploded  in  sixteen  blasts.  When  the  firing  be- 
gan the  wind  was  blowing1  from  the  east  at  the  rate  of  20  miles  per 
hour.  In  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour  from  the  first  explosion  it 
began  to  rain  and  the  rain  continued  about  an  hour.  I was  informed 
that  the  rain  gauge  showed  a rainfall  of  0.02  of  an  inch.  Rain  was  seen 
to  be  falling  heavily  in  the  east,  but  no  more  rain  fell  at  the  house  that 
evening.  After  about  half  past  5 there  was  no  more  firing. 

The  maps  of  the  Weather  Bureau  of  August  17,  8 p.  m.,  and  18,  8 a. 
m.,  give  no  forecast  of  this  storm,  but  the  rain  is  shown  on  the  map  of 
August  18,  8 p.  m. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  firing  on  the  16th  up  to  and  including  the 
night  of  the  18th,  there  had  been  an  apparent  disturbed  condition  of 
the  atmosphere  with  hauling  and  backing  winds  and  wandering  storms. 
These  are  conditions  which  I am  informed  by  residents  of  this  region 
had  never  been  observed  there  before  and  created  surprise. 

The  morning  of  the  19th  was  clear  and  the  day  remained  so.  There 
was  no  firing,  and  some  of  the  members  of  the  party,  with  the  assist- 
, ance  of  some  mechanics  of  the  ranch,  were  engaged  in  repairing  the 
oxygen  apparatus. 

Dr.  Rosell,  Mr.  Oasler,  Mr.  Draper,  and  Mr.  Keefer  were  sick  and 
obliged  to  be  in  bed  from  the  effects  of  the  alkaline  water,  which  pro- 
duced severe  pain  in  the  back  across  the  kidneys,  accompanied  by  high 
fever.  Every  one  of  the  party,  with  the  exception  of  myself,  was  ill 
from  this  cause  and  had  been  so  at  different  times  before  this.  From 
service  in  the  Army,  on  the  plains,  heretofore,  in  alkali  regions,  I had 
learned  to  beware  of  the  pernicious  water,  and  I warned  my  assistants, 
but  the  climate  being  very  hot  and  being  often  exhausted  and  thirsty 
from  hard  work,  they  were  heedless  until  after  they  had  suffered.  I 


22 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


recommended  treatment  of  tlie  water  with  sulphuric  acid  and  this  was 
beneficial. 

In  order  to  repair  the  apparatus  it  was  brought  up  from  the  east  mill 
to  an  adobe  building,  a blacksmith  and  machine  shop,  near  the  ranch 
house,  shown  in  the  annexed  photograph  marked  YI. 

On  the  morning  of  August  20,  the  sky  was  clear  and  there  was  a strong- 
steady  wind  of  about  12  miles  an  hour  from  the  south,  which  at  about  11 
o’clock,  backed  to  the  southeast.  Desiring  to  find  again  the  jdace  of  every 
gun  and  mine  on  the  front  line,  as  little  flags  which  I had  placed  one  at 
each  spot  where  a gun  or  mine  was  located  had  been  blown  away,  I started 
out  about  10  o’clock  on  horseback  with  a herder  named  Kelly,  who  had 
had  some  experience  in  blasting,  to  the  west- south  west  of  the  ranch,  to 
begin  with  the  first  gun  and  mine  at  that  end.  We  carried  with  us  an 
electrical  discharger  and  about  fifty  rackarock  cartridges  and  a few 
sticks  of  dynamite.  We  found  that  the  first  gun  was  already  loaded 
with  blasting  powder.  We  pulled  it  almost  entirely  out  of  its  excava- 
tion, saving  as  much  of  the  powder  as  we  could,  and  re-inserted  it  to 
the  depth  of  only  a few  inches,  and  re-loaded  it  with  the  powder  and 
two  inserted  cartridges  of  rackarock.  The  charge  was  exploded  from 
the  electrical  discharger,  the  cap  being  inserted  between  the  cartridges. 
Most  of  the  powder  was  ignited.  The  concussion  was  strong,  but  not 
so  great  as  when  rackarock  is  fired  unconfined.  The  tube,  constituting 
the  gun,  was  broken  into  many  pieces.  We  then  moved  to  the  south 
along  the  line,  firing  some  blasts  and  some  dynamite  and  rackarock. 
Somewhat  later,  some  of  the  party,  I think  Mr.  Draper  and  Mr.  Keefer, 
came  out  and  we  hung  bundles  of  eight,  ten,  and  sixteen  sticks  of  rack- 
arock with  a stick  of  dynamite  inside,  on  the  bushes  and  exploded  them 
one  after  another.  On  the  explosion  of  the  last  charge,  the  largest  one, 
I noticed  a peculiar  rising  of  the  top  portion  of  the  smoke  in  faint  ring- 
form  with  a lateral  whirling  motion  from  right  to  left,  the  ring  widen- 
ing as  it  ascended  and  disappearing.  And  the  smoke  on  the  ground 
and  the  ring  moved  with  the  wind.  The  rising  of  the  ring  seemed  to 
be  accompanied  by  a peculiar  sound,  distinct  from  the  noise  of  the 
wind.  The  sound  was  so  uncertain  and  lasted  so  short  a time  that  it 
did  not  make  a strong  impression  upon  me  at  the  time,  and  I forgot 
about  it  until  I was  informed  by  Mr.  Ellis  and  Lieut.  Dyer,  that,  in 
subsequent  experiments,  they  had  sometimes  noticed  the  same  thing. 
The  wind  had  backed  somewhat  farther  to  the  east,  but  directly  after 
the  last  explosion,  it  hauled  back  to  the  south.  I then  rode  around  the 
entire  line  and  returned  to  the  ranch  house  by  way  of  the  east  mill. 

After  noon  the  wind  abated  considerably,  but  heavy  storm  clouds  be- 
gan to  make  their  appearance  in  the  northwest,  extending  to  the  north, 
and  by  a few  minutes  after  4 o’clock  they  had  risen  to  the  middle 
of  the  sky.  At  about  half  past  4 the  wind  shifted  to  the  north 
and  blew  over  20  miles  an  hour.  I then  directed  the  firing  of  some 
rackarock,  and  a charge  of  six  cartridges  was  exploded  at  about  5 
o’clock.  A few  minutes  before  the  explosion,  however,  there  was  a slight 
sprinkle  of  rain.  A charge  of  ten  cartridges  of  rackarock  was  then  ex- 
ploded, about  five  minutes  after  the  first,  and  a charge  of  twelve  cartridges 
was  exploded  about  ten  minutes  later.  T3ie  charges  were  not  followed 
by  any  immediate  rainfall  at  the  ranch  house,  but  Dr.  Rosell,  who  had 
done  the  firing  at  about  half  a mile  to  the  south-southeast  of  the  house, 
and  others  who  were  with  him,  told  me  that  directly  after  each  explosion 
they  had  felt  the  rain  spatter  in  their  faces  for  a few  moments.  At 
about  half  past  5 there  was  a light  rain  at  the  ranch  house.  The  storm 
was  passing  rapidly  to  the  southwest,  and  at  about  a quarter  to  6 & 


VI.  The  adobe  blacksmith  and  machine  shop. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL 


23 


fourth  charge  was  exploded,  and  again  the  party  felt  a spatter  of  rain. 
A heavy  storm,  with  thunder,  was  seen  in  the  southwest.  The  sky  con- 
tinued very  heavy.  About  0 o’clock  a kite  was  sent  up  carrying  two 
sticks  of  dynamite,  but  just  before  the  dynamite  was  exploded  it  began 
to  rain,  and  the  rain  continued  for  a few  minutes  only.  At  about  half 
past  G the  wind  shifted  to  the  southwest  and  the  sky  was  clearing  in 
the  northwest  and  north.  There  were  still  storm  clouds  overhead,  how- 
ever, and  at  about  7 o’clock  I directed  the  explosion  of  four  sticks  of 
dynamite  on  a bush.  The  explosion  was  followed  immediately  by  a light 
rain,  which  lasted,  from  a sprinkle  to  a light  shower,  for  about  fifteen 
minutes,  and  light  sprinkles  continued  during  the  evening.  A heavy 
storm,  accompanied  by  lightning,  was  observed  in  the  south  during  the 
rest  of  the  evening. 

On  the  21st,  work  progressed  on  the  oxygen  apparatus,  though  the  day 
was  so  very  hot  that  it  was  not  possible  to  do  much  work.  After  sun- 
down, and  up  to  9 o’clock,  about  160  pounds  of  rackarock  were  exploded 
in  fifteen  charges.  The  wind  was  south.  At  about  12  in  the  night  the 
wind  shifted  to  the  north,  and  it  blew  up  very  cold  in  strong  gusts. 

The  morning  of  August  22,  was  foggy  and  the  sky  was  entirely  over- 
cast. The  wind  was  blowing  in  strong  gusts  from  the  north,  and 
ir  was  so  cold  that  fires  were  built.  Beginning  at  about  half-past  8, 
and  at  short  intervals,  seventeen  charges  of  rackarock  were  exploded  in 
bundles  of  from  six  to  twenty-five  cartridges  each.  The  explosions 
were  seen  to  condense  and  dissipate  the  mist  for  a few  moments  where 
they  occurred.  The  mist  continued  until  about  half-past  10  a.  m. 
There  was  no  rain.  The  Weather  Bureau  map  of  8 p.  m.,  August  21, 
predicts  a cooler  temperature  for  the  22d,  with  showers  in  the  northern 
part  of  Texas,  and  the  Weather  Bureau  maps  of  August  22  show  a rain 
extending  from  far  eastward  to  and  beyond  Abilene. 

On  the  afternoon  of  August  22,  by  reason  of  the  expiration  of  his 
leave,  Dr.  Rosell  was  obliged  to  leave  the  party  and  return  to  W ash- 
ington,  and  he  went,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Keefer. 

On  the  morning  of  August  23  there  was  a heavy  dew  by  the  cooling 
of  the  ground.  The  day  was  clear. 

Having  become  convinced  of  the  inexpediency  of  the  manufacture 
of  oxygen  in  any  situation  exposed  to  the  wind,  I determined  to  make 
a large  quantity  of  oxygen  in  the  adobe  hut  and  store  it  in  one  or  more 
of  the  balloons  as  reservoirs,  and  then  convey  these  balloons  to  the  place 
of  operation,  charging  each  balloon  thereafter  to  be  filled  with  the  mixed 
gases,  first  with  the  necessary  quantity  of  oxygen  from  a reservoir  bal- 
loon and  then  with  the  requisite  quantity  of  hydrogen  from  the  hydro- 
gen generators  at  the  place.  As  hydrogen  is  more  diffusive  than  oxy- 
gen, it  is  always  best  to  charge  the  necessary  quantity  of  oxygen  first 
into  the  balloon  to  be  exploded. 

I now  renewed  every  effort  to  get  ready  for  the  grand  test,  and  on 
the  21th  oxygen  was  made  in  the  adobe  and  stored  in  reservoir  bal- 
loons. The  annexed  photograph,  marked  VII,  will  show  the  oxygen 
apparatus  and  the  work  in  progress. 

The  23d  and  24th  were  dry,  clear  days.  The  wind  was  southerly,  and 
on  the  24th  it  blew  a gale  of  about  20  miles  an  hour  from  the  south- 
west. 

Mr.  Curtis’s  time  having  expired,  he  left  the  ranch  to  return  to  Wash- 
ington. 

The  map  of  the  Weather  Bureau  of  August  25,  8 a.  in.,  shows  a 
shower  at  Abilene  on  the  24th,  with  wind  south ; but,  as  said  above,  it 
was  dry  and  clear  at  the  tc  0 ” ranch. 


24 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


THE  MIDLAND  TEST. 

On  the  morning  of  August  25  the  sky  was  clear  and  there  seemed  to 
be  every  indication  that  the  weather  was  u settled  dry,”  as  expressed 
by  the  ranchmen.  I had  hoped  for  a quiet  day,  but  the  wine],  which,  as 
usual,  had  been  light  during  the  night,  increased  soon  after  sunrise  and 
by  10  o’clock  it  was  blowing  from  the  south  at  a velocity  of  nearly  25 
miles  an  hour.  The  hydrogen-generating  apparatus  had  been  started 
early  in  the  morning  and  by  10  a.  m.  several  balloons  were  being  rapidly 
filled.  The  accompanying  photograph,  marked  VIII,  shows  the  infla- 
tion in  progress  before  the  wind  became  strong,  the  balloon  on  the 
ground  to  the  right  of  the  picture  being  a reservoir  balloon  containing 
oxygen. 

As  the  wind  increased  in  strength,  the  greatest  difficulty  was  experi- 
enced in  preventing  the  balloons  from  breaking  away  or  being  destroyed. 
The  work  proceeded,  however,  although  in  spite  of  all  efforts  several 
balloons  were  lost  at  different  times  during  the  day,  one  bursting- 
through  its  heavy  cord  netting  and  others  parting  the  cables  by  which 
they  were  held.  The  course  of  each  of  these  balloons,  as  it  rose,  indi- 
cated that  above  the  strong  surface  current  from  the  south  another  cur- 
rent was  moving  from  the  southwest  to  the  northeast,  at  an  altitude  of 
about  1 mile,  and  that  above  this,  at  an  altitude  of  2 miles  or  more,  there 
was  a third  current  moving  from  northwest  to  southeast.  At  11  a.  m. 
the  first  balloon,  containing  1,000  feet  of  oxy-hydrogen  gas,  was  exploded, 
and  during  the  afternoon  three  more  of  the  large  balloons  were  exploded. 

The  annexed  photograph,  marked  IX,  will  show  the  struggle  with  one 
of  these  balloons. 

Most  determined  and  persistent  efforts  were  made  to  fill  a large  num- 
ber of  balloons,  and  carry  them  out  in  line,  send  them  up,  and  explode 
them ; but  by  6 o’clock  only  the  few  mentioned  had  been  filled  and  ex- 
ploded, and  the  party  returned  to  the  house  weary  and  jaded.  The 
balloons  which  exploded  flew  directly  north.  Three  balloons  were  let 
go  free  and  were  fired  by  short  time  fuse ; but  one  was  held  captive  and 
fired  from  a dynamo  or  electrical  discharger.  Owing  to  the  violence  of 
the  wind,  if  the  wire,  constituting  its  cable,  were  merely  paid  out,  the 
balloon  would  drag  and  be  beaten  down;  so,  while  the  balloon  was 
held  on  the  ground,  the  end  of  the  wire  attached  to  the  dynamo  or 
electrical  discharger  was  carried  about  a thousand  feet  to  leeward,  and, 
the  balloon  being  then  liberated,  as  it  passed  over  and  somewhat  be- 
yond the  spot  where  the  dynamo  was,  the  handle  was  pushed  down  and 
the  balloon  exploded. 

As  the  last  of  the  free  balloons  was  rising,  an  interesting  circum- 
stance occurred.  The  balloon  had  got  about  three-quarters  of  a mile 
from  the  East  mill,  when  a charge  of  about  a dozen  cartridges  of  racka- 
rock  with  some  sticks  of  dynamite  was  fired  half  a mile  directly  to  wind- 
ward of  the  mill. 

The  wave  resulting  from  the  explosion  was  heard  to  strike  the  balloon 
with  such  force  that  the  balloon  was  thought  to  have  been  ruptured, 
and  it  was  seen  to  careen  and  sway  violently.  The  balloon  was  not  in- 
jured, however  and,  in  about  ten  seconds,  it  exploded. 

At  sundown,  ground  explosions  were  begun  and  they  were  continued 
throughout  the  evening.  The  charges  were  very  heavy  and  the  explo- 
sions occurred  at  short  intervals,  40  pounds  of  dynamite,  200  pounds  of 
rackarock,  150  pounds  of  blasting  powder  being  used,  and  early  on  the 
following  morning  50  pounds  of  dynamite  and  100  pounds  of  rackarock 
were  fired  in  about  a dozen  heavy  charges. 


VIM.  I nflating  the  balloons. 


IX  A struggle  with  one  of  the  balloons. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


25 


During  tlie  day  the  sky  had  been  very  clear,  the  fragments  of 
cumulo-sfcratus  clouds  which  appeared  during  the  afternoon  (as  they  do 
with  the  utmost  regularity  on  every  day  during  fair  weather)  being 
much  lighter,  higher,  and  more  scattered  than  usual.  At  7.30  a.  m.  the 
thermometer  had  indicated  a temperature  of  68.4°  with  the  dew- 
point at  42°,  and  the  relative  humidity  37.  The  barometer  had 
shown  a pressure  of  29.98  inches  with  the  wind  continuing  from  the 
southeast  at  a velocity  of  18.16  miles  per  hour.  At  3.30  p.  m.  the  tem- 
perature had  risen  to  92.2°,  the  dew-point  remaining  at  42°,  and 
the  relative  humidity  having  fallen  to  16.  Upon  the  same  afternoon, 
the  office  of  the  Weather  Bureau  at  El  Paso,  200  miles  west,  re- 
ported the  relative  humidity  at  that  point  to  be  only  6.  This  would 
indicate  that  upon  the  day  upon  which  the  firing  occurred  the  atmos- 
phere over  an  extended  area  was  in  as  dry  a condition  as  it  ever  is. 
Such  extreme  dryness  is  seldom  observed,  even  in  that  region.  The 
barometer  at  this  hour  indicated  29.93  inches,  the  wind  continuing  from 
the  south  with  a velocity  varying  from  19  to  23  miles  per  hour.  At  this 
time  a few  fragments  of  clouds  were  floating  overhead  as  usual,  but 
they  were  at  an  altitude  of  6,000  or  8,000  feet,  and  very  light  and  scat- 
tered. 

The  firing  ceased  at  about  11  p.  m.,  the  atmosphere  at  that  time  being 
very  clear,  and  as  dry  as  I have  ever  observed  it. 

At  about  3 o’clock  on  the  following  morning,  August  26,  I was 
awakened  by  violent  thunder,  which  was  accompanied  by  vivid  lightning, 
and  a heavy  rainstorm  was  seen  to  the  north — that  is,  in  the  direction 
toward  which  the  surface  wind  had  steadily  blown  during  the  firing,  and 
hence  the  direction  in  which  the  shocks  of  the  explosions  were  chiefly 
carried.  The  storm  extended  northwest.  The  wind  was  directly  north, 
and  the  clouds  approached  slowly  during  the  next  two  hours,  until 
shortly  before  6 o’clock  a.  jn.  a heavy  rain  could  be  seen  falling  over 
the  north  pastures  of  the  ranch.  The  rain  continued  falling  heavily 
over  the  entire  north  half  of  the  ranch  for  about  two  hours.  Only  the 
edge  of  the  clouds  passed  over  the  ranch-house,  however,  so  that  the 
rain  there  was  slight;  but  Mr.  Bannells,  manager  of  the  ranch,  an  ex- 
perienced ranchman,  and  others  of  the  party,  and  I,  estimated  the  rain- 
fall to  be  not  less  than  1 inch  and  probably  as  much  as  an  inch  and 
a half  on  the  north  pastures  less  than  2 miles  from  the  house.  While 
the  thin  edge  of  the  cloud  was  overhead,  a few  charges  of  dynamite 
were  fired  near  the  ranch  house.  A few  moments  after  the  first  explo- 
sion the  first  overhead  rain  began,  and  after  each  subsequent  explosion 
rain  could  be  seen  falling  from  the  clouds  overhead  in  what  appeared  to 
be  a heavy  shower,  but  the  air  was  still  so  dry  that  at  first  no  rain  and 
afterward  only  a sprinkle  reached  the  ground.  After  each  explosion 
the  quantity  of  rainfall  increased. 

During  the  forenoon  the  clouds  passed  slowly  to  the  east  and  south- 
east, and,  from  reports  afterwards  received,  it  was  learned  that  a very 
heavy  rain  had  fallen  over  the  northern  part  of  the  Slaughter  ranch, 
situated  east  of  the  u O ” ranch,  as  well  as  over  the  rest  of  the  central 
portions  of  Andrews  and  Martin  counties,  and  the  storm  had  then  dis- 
solved before  reaching  points  100  miles  east.  At  Abilene  no  rain  fell, 
nor  did  the  wind  change  there,  but  continued  blowing,  as  upon  preced- 
ing days,  from  the  southeast.  At  other  Weather  Bureau  stations,  on 
all  sides  of  us,  such  as  Fort  Stanton  and  Santa  Fe,  FT.  Mex.,  and  El 
Paso  and  San  Antonio,  Tex.,  there  was  no  rain.  The  storm  seems  to 
have  been  entirely  local. 

I have  seen  since  that  on  the  map  of  the  Weather  Bureau  of  August 


26 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OP  RAINFALL. 


25,  8 p.  m.,  the  forecast  to  8 p.  m.  of  August  26  predicted  local  showers 
on  the  extreme  southeast  coast  and  the  northwest  (I  do  not  know 
whether  this  means  the  extreme  northwest  or  anywhere  north  and  west 
of  the  center  of  the  State);  but  from  what  precedes,  it  appears  that 
while  I was  in  Texas  showers  were  several  times  predicted  for  the 
region*and  did  not  occur  at  Midland  and  vicinity  when  there  were  no 
explosions,  and  that  when  showers  were  not  predicted  for  the  region, 
and  there  were  explosions,  showers  occurred ; so  I do  not  consider  it 
conclusive  that  because,  in  a general  way,  showers  were  predicted  for 
the  northwest  region  and  we  got  a rain  after  firing,  consequently, 
the  firing  must  appear  as  having  been  superfluous.  Besides  what  came 
was  not  a shower.  It  was  a heavy  rain,  estimated  for  the  north  pas- 
tures of  the  UGV  ranch  and  part  of  the  Slaughter  ranch  at  1J  inches. 
The  maps  of  the  Weather  Bureau  of  August  26  and  27  show  no  rain  in 
this  region. 

At  7 :25  a.  m.,  August  26,  ivhile  there  was  a sprinkle  of  rain  at  the 
ranch  house,  and  heavy  rain  was  falling  to  the  north  and  northwest, 
the  temperature  was  69.4°,  the  dew-point  45°,  and  the  relative  humidity, 
40.  The  storm  clouds  extended  from  a line  about  15°  above  the  north- 
western, northern,  northeastern,  and  about  20°  above  the  eastern  hori- 
zon to  a little  south  of  the  zenith.  The  barometrical  pressure  was  30.34 
inches,  having  risen  steadily  during  the  preceding  48  hours  (.44  inch). 

At  3 p.  m.  the  barometer  indicated  a pressure  of  30.06  inches,  the 
temperature  was  90.4°,  dew-point  45,  relative  humidity  20,  and  the  wind 
had  hauled  to  the  southeast,  and  was  blowing  with  a velocity  of  17 
miles  an  hour. 

After  the  completion  of  these  experiments  and  after  a thorough  test 
of  all  the  apparatus  on  hand,  I concluded  that  I might  safely  comply 
with  urgent  requests  for  my  return  to  Washington,  where  my  presence 
was  imperatively  demanded. 

On  the  evening  of  the  26th  I proceeded  to  Midland,  together  with 
Messrs.  Powers,  Draper,  and  the  balloonist,  and  on  the  following  morn- 
ing started  for  Washington. 

During  the  whole  of  the  time  that  I was  at  the  “O”  ranch,  not  only 
was  every  possible  facility  extended  to  the  expedition  from  Mr.  Morris, 
to  whom  I desire  to  express  my  thanks,  but  cheerful  and  most  efficient 
assistance  was  rendered  by  the  personal  attention  of  Mr.  E.  W.  Ran- 
nells,  the  manager  of  the  ranch,  to  whose  untiring  zeal  and  courtesy 
every  member  of  the  expedition  testifies,  and  to  whom  whatever  success 
was  achieved,  is,  in  a great  measure,  due. 

I left  Mr.  Ellis  and  Mr.  Casler  at  the  UC”  ranch  in  charge  of  the 
apparatus  of  the  expedition,  with  instructions  to  remain  at  that  point 
a few  days,  in  the  hope  of  securing  a calm  day  on  which  to  make  another 
experiment,  and  then  to  transport  the  apparatus  to  Midland  Station 
and  ship  it  by  freight  to  El  Paso,  where,  upon  the  invitation  of  the 
mayor  and  prominent  citizens,  I agreed  to  make  a test,  provided  the 
local  expenses  of  teams,  labor,  and  hotel  bills  should  be  paid  and  trans- 
portation to  and  from  that  point  be  furnished,  saving  that  amount  to 
the  appropriation. 

Being  unable  to  return  to  Texas  during  the  next  few  weeks  I found 
it  necessary  to  leave  the  immediate  conduct  of  the  subsequent  experi- 
ments to  Mr.  Ellis,  to  whom  I gave  careful  instructions  and  whom  I 
knew  to  be  competent  to  prosecute  the  investigations  in  the  best  possible 
manner. 

I kept  in  constant  communication  with  him  by  mail  and  telegraph. 
Mr.  Ellis  carefully  followed  all  instructions  given  him,  and  his  manage- 
ment and  the  subsequent  work  of  the  expedition  have  been  satisfactory. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


27 


Upon  your  request,  at  my  suggestion,  Lieut.  S.  Allen  Dyer,  of  the 
Twenty- third  Infantry,  U.  S.  Army,  who  gave  valuable  assistance  and 
worked  with  Mr.  Ellis  during  the  experiments  at  El  Paso  and  San 
Diego,  has  been  detailed  by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  assist  Mr.  Ellis  in 
making  his  report. 

Concerning  the  subsequent  movements  of  the  party  in  the  experi- 
ments at  El  Paso  and  San  Diego,  I respectfully  invite  your  attention  to 
the  following  reports  of  Mr.  Ellis  and  Lieut.  Dyer,  together  with  at- 
tached statements,  letters,  and  meteorological  data. 


REPORT  OF  MR.  ELLIS . 

Washington,  D.  C.,  December  1, 1891. 

R.  G.  Dyrenforth, 

Special  Agent,  Department  of  Agriculture : 

Sir:  The  departure  from  Midland  of  Dr.  Rosell  and  Mr.  Keefer  on  August  22, 
of  Mr.  Curtis  on  the  24th,  and  of  yourself,  with  Messrs.  Powers,  Myers,  and 
Draper,  on  the  27th,  left  Mr.  George  E.  Casler  and  myself  in  charge  of  the  ap- 
paratus and  unused  material  of  the  expedition  at  the  “ C ” ranch. 

In  accordanca  with  your  instructions,  I secured  the  services  of  Mr.  N.  A.  Jen- 
nings, who  had  come  from  Dallas,  Tex.,  to  witness  the  experiments,  and  had 
rendered  valuable  assistance  in  the  work  of  the  25th  of  August,  to  assist  Mr.  Cas- 
ler and  myself  in  the  work  before  us. 

Your  instructions  to  me  were,  to  remain  at  the  “ C”  ranch  a week  or  ten  days 
in  the  hope  of  securing  a moderately  quiet  day  in  which  to  make  another  test, 
and  then  to  transport  the  outfit  of  the  expedition  overland  by  team  to  Midland, 
and  thence,  by  the  Texas  and  Pacific  Railway  freight,  to  El  Paso,  and  prepare  for 
the  test  at  that  point.  During  the  next  week  the  wind  did  not  moderate,  but  at- 
tained a velocity  daily  of  from  15  to  26  miles  an  hour. 

On  the  31st  of  August,  in  company  with  Mr.  Jennings,  I drove  to  Midland, 
where  I received  a message  from  Mayor  Caples,  of  El  Paso,  under  date  of  August 
27,  as  follows : “ Have  made  all  arrangements  you  requested  in  letter  of  24th  in- 
stant. When  can  we  expect  you  ? ” I telegraphed  in  reply  that  we  would  ship 
the  apparatus  during  the  week,  and  that  another  week  at  least  would  be  required 
in  which  to  set  it  up. 

In  the  letter  file  which  you  left  with  me,  I discovered  a circular  from  the  New 
York  Oxygen  Company,  stating  that  they  were  prepared  to  furnish  pure  oxygen 
gas,  stored  in  seamless  steel  cylinders,  under  a pressure  of  120  atmospheres.  I 
estimated  that  by  this  means  we  could  procure  our  oxygen  gas  at  great  econ- 
omy of  both  time  and  money  over  the  method  we  then  employed.  I therefore 
telegraphed  the  New  York  Oxygen  Company  on  September  1,  to  furnish  me  prices 
and  information  concerning  weight  of  cylinders,  etc.,  and  on  September  2, 1 re- 
ceived the  following  reply  by  telegraph  : 

“Oxygen,  5 cents  per  cubic  foot,  cash,  f.  o.  b.  New  York,  subject  to  satisfac- 
tory guaranty  for  prompt  return  of  cylinders  here,  free  of  expense  to  us.  Weight 
of  cylinders  charged,  95  pounds  each. 

Lenox  Smith,  President .” 

Upon  the  same  day  I received  the  following  reply  to  a message,  sent  Septem- 
ber 1,  to  the  Consolidated  Fireworks  Company  of  North  America,  in  New  York 
City: 

“ Bomb-shell  salutes,  21-pounders,  $17  per  dozen,  net.  These  are  heaviest  re- 
ports made.  We  mail  catalogue. 

Consolidated  Fireworks  op  America.” 

For  use  at  El  Paso,  in  addition  to  materials  we  had  on  hand,  I desired  to  pro- 


cure materials,  necessitating  an  expense  as  follows,  viz  : 

2,000  cubic  feet  of  oxygen,  at  5 cents  per  cubic  foot $100 

6 dozen  bomb  shells,  at  $17  per  dozen 102 

500  pounds  of  dynamite,  at  15  cents  per  pound . 75 

Express  from  New  York  on  oxygen  and  bombs,  about  20  cwt.,  at  $10  per 
cwt 200 


Total $477 


28 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


On  account  of  the  smallness  of  our  party  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  manufac- 
ture our  own  oxygen  at  El  Paso  and  carry  on  the  other  labors  of  an  experiment 
at  the  same  time . It  therefore  seemed  important  that  these  materials  should  all  be 
secured  in  time  for  the  test.  However,  the  Government  appropriation  could  not 
spare  the  necessary  funds.  The  people  of  El  Paso  had  only  agreed  to  furnish 
transportation  and  pay  local  expenses  of  labor,  teams,  and  hotel  bills.  I decided 
to.  ask  them  to  assume  these  additional  expenses  and  took  the  night  train  for  El 
Paso,  Mr.  Jennings  returning  meanwhile  to  the  “C”  ranch. 

I arrived  at  El  Paso  on  the  3d  and  received  a warm  welcome  at  the  hands  of 
Mayor  Caples,  Capt.  Juan  S.Hart,  of  the  El  Paso  Daily  Times;  Prof.  Longuemare, 
of  the  Bullion,  and  Mr.  Kelly,  of  the  city  council.  I laid  the  proposition  before 
the  gentlemen,  who  gave  most  considerate  attention,  and  was  then  driven  to  the 
“ mesa”  or  table-land  back  of  the  city,  to  select  a place  for  operating.  The  spot 
which  seemed  most  suitable  for  the  balloon  apparatus  was  a ravine  or  “ arroya,” 
about  1£  miles  north  of  the  center  of  the  city,  at  the  foot  of  one  of  the  walls  of 
the  City  Water  Company’s  reservoirs.  In  this  hollow  the  balloons  while  filling 
would  be  protected  from  the  wind,  which  prevails  from  the  southeast  at  an  aver- 
age velocity  of  about  10  miles  per  hour,  and  an  abundant  supply  of  water  for  the 
hydrogen  generator  could  be  obtained  through  hose  laid  from  the  reservoir. 

I also  called  at  the  office  of  the  Weather  Bureau  and  had  a conversation  with 
Mr.  Lovej  the  observer  at  that  point. 

That  evening  the  city  council  at  a special  session  agreed  to  pay  the  expenses 
of  procuring  the  oxygen,  bombs,  and  dynamite,  and  authorized  Mayor  Caples  to 
make  any  other  expenditures  he  deemed  advisable.  The  bombs  and  oxygen  were 
immediately  ordered  by  wire  to  be  shipped  by  express. 

On  the  4th  of  September  I returned  to  Midland,  where  I was  met  by  Mr.  Jen- 
nings. On  our  return  to  the  ranch  we  found  that  the  ranch  “outfit”  had  gone 
to  Colorado  City  to  ship  cattle,  leaving  only  the  cook  and  two  or  three  men  who 
were  on  the  sick  list  and  could  give  us  no  assistance. 

It  was  impossible  to  get  the  assistance  of  any  of  the  freighters  or  other  labor- 
ers of  Midland  on  account  of  their  fear  of  our  explosives  and  electrical  apparatus. 
Mr.  Casler,  Mr.  Jennings,  and  I,  therefore,  packed  our  paraphernalia  in  the 
wagons  as  rapidly  as  we  were  able  and  hauled  it  ourselves  with  mule  teams  to 
the  railroad  at  Midland.  Mr.  Casler,  being  too  ill  to  drive  a team,  was  brought 
in  the  next  day  in  a carriage. 

The  material  brought  from  the  ranch  was  as  follows : Two  hydrogen-generating 
tanks,  with  wash  barrels,  etc.;  1,900 pounds  chlorate  of  potash,  in  kegs ; 500  pounds 
binoxideof  manganese  ; 500  pounds  of  rackarock  ; 2,000  pounds  of  sulphuric  acid, 
in  drums  ; 1,000  pounds  iron  borings  ; thirty-three  10  and  12  foot  balloons ; one 
20-foot  balloon  for  explosive  purposes ; one  22-foot  balloon  for  ascensions ; 7 dy- 
namo dischargers;  12  boxes  and  trunks,  containing  fittings  and  instruments; 
2,000  pounds  oxygen  furnaces,  cylinders,  and  wire.  This  material  we  loaded  into 
a freight  car,  together  with  12,000  pounds  of  sulphuric  acid,  5,000  pounds  iron 
borings,  which  had  been  stored  at  the  Midland  freight  depot,  and  shipped  it  to 
El  Paso. 

Foreman  Jesse  Corne  and  the  ranch  “outfit”  returned  before  we  had  finished 
loading  and  gave  every  assistance  possible.  Mr.  Casler  and  I left  Midland  on 
the  evening  of  Wednesday,  September  9,  and  reached  El  Paso  at  noon  the  fol- 
lowing day.  El  Paso  is  situated  in  the  midst  of  an  exceedingly  dry  and  barren 
region  in  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  840  miles  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
Mr.  Jennings  remained  at  Midland  to  bring  in  another  load  of  our  apparatus 
and  start  the  car,  following  us  to  El  Paso  September  12.  On  the  13th  we  were, 
joined  by  Mr.  Eugene  Fairchild,  whom  I had  called,  in  accordance  with  your 
instructions,  from  Oberlin  College,  Ohio,  to  assist  in  the  chemical  and  electri- 
cal work  of  the  operations.  The  carload  of  apparatus  and  chemicals  also  ar- 
rived from  Midland  on  the  13th. 

Soon  after  our  arrival  at  El  Paso,  Maj.  James  Henton,  commanding  officer 
of  Fort  Bliss,  El  Paso,  called  on  me  at  the  hotel  and  very  kindly  offered  any  as- 
sistance he  might  be  able  to  furnish  in  the  shape  of  men  and  teams.  The  major 
also  handed  me  a letter  from  the  San  Antonio  Board  of  Trade  and  Gen.  D.  S. 
Stanley,  commanding  the  Division  of  Texas,  U.  S.  Army,  urging  that  we  come 
to  San  Antonio  to  make  further  experiments,  and  proffering  all  the  assistance 
they  might  be  able  to  give.  In  reply,  I informed  the  Board  of  Trade  and  Gen. 
Stanley  of  the  arrangements  which  you  had  already  ordered  for  experiments  at 
El  Paso  and  in  Southern  Texas,  and,  after  communicating  with  you,  stated  that 
I knew  of  no  reason  why  we  could  not  come  to  San  Antonio  immediately  after 
finishing  the  work  at  these  points. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


20 


On  Monday,  Tuesday,  and  Wednesday,  the  14th  to  16th  of  September,  the  ap- 
paratus and  materials  necessary  for*  the  experiment  were  hauled  to  the  point 
selected  upon  the  “mesa”  back  of  the  city, beside  the  water- works  reservoirs. 
Here  the  hydrogen  generator  was  set  up  in  the  sheltered  ravine.  Firehose  was 
laid  from  the  reservoir.  A hut,  12  by  14  feet  in  dimensions,  was  erected,  in 
which  the  balloons,  dynamos,  instruments,  and  fittings  were  stored,  and  .3,000 
pounds  of  iron  and  3,600  pounds  of  sulphuric  acid  were  brought  from  the  car  for 
use  in  making  hydrogen  gas.  On  the  16th,  burros  were  load.ed  with  400  pounds 
of  dynamite,  100  pounds  of  rackarock,  20  bombshells,  2 mortars,  2 dynamos,  wire, 
exploders,  etc.,  and  proceeded  to  the  summit  of  the  southern  end  of  Mount  Frank- 
lin, a point  3 miles  east  of  the  balloon  apparatus,  with  an  altitude  of  about  2,000 
feet  above  the  Rio  Grande  at  El  Paso  and  5,700  feet  above  the  sea  level.  Mr. 
Jennings  was  given  charge  of  the  preparations  and  execution  of  this  part  of  the 
work. 

The  following  day,  Thursday,  the  17th,  the  22  feet  (diameter)  balloon  was  in- 
flated with  hydrogen  for  use  by  me  in  making  an  observational  ascension,  to  get 
some  data  concerning  the  temperature  and  humidity  of  the  various  currents  and 
strata  of  the  upper  air. 

I carried  a barometer  graduated  to  read  hundredths  of  feet,  a “ wet  and  dry 
bulb”  thermometer,  or  psychrometer,  for  determining  the  humidity  of  the  air, 
and  a photograph  camera.  The  balloon  was  heavily  ballasted  with  sand  bags  so 
that  the  ascension  might  be  gradual,  giving  time  for  making  careful  readings  of 
the  instruments  at  short  intervals. 

The  balloon  was  let  loose  at  4:05  p.  m.  (Rocky  Mountain  time),  and  ascended 
slowly  to  a height  of  about  1,000  feet,  where  it  hung  for  a few  moments  in  equi- 
librium. A few  handfuls  of  sand  thrown  out,  however,  caused  it  to  slowly  rise 
a few  hundred  feet  more,  and  by  repeating  the  process  a series  of  observations 
was  easily  made  which  can  be  accepted  as  reasonably  accurate.  The  balloon 
changed  its  course  repeatedly  as  it  passed  through  different  currents,  and  the 
variations  in  temperature  were  marked. 

At  4:44  p.  m.,  I was  at  an  elevation  of  4,300  feet  above  El  Paso  (8,000  feet  above 
sea  level),  and  at  a lateral  distance  of  about  6 miles  from  the  waterworks  reser- 
voir and  the  apparatus.  At  that  time  several  2-pound  charges  of  dynamite  were 
exploded  at  that  point,  in  order  that  I might  observe  the  effect. 

A few  moments  after  the  first  puff  of  white  smoke  arose  by  the  reservoir,  the 
sound  reached  my  ears,  and  at  .the  same  time  the  balloon  was  perceptibly  shaken, 
trembling  for  several  seconds  in  a manner  that  would  have  been  alarming  but 
for  my  confidence  that  the  fabric  and  netting  were  amply  strong  to  withstand  the 
strain  from  the  jarring.  At  this  time  the  balloon  was  very  close  to  the  cumulo- 
stratus  clouds  above,  and  a moment  after  the  first  sound  wave  reached  me  an 
echo  came  from  the  clouds,  causing  the  balloon  to  vibrate  slightly  again.  Sev- 
eral of  the  2-pound  charges  of  dynamite  were  fired  at  the  reservoir  during  the 
next  five  minutes,  and  after  each  explosion  I experienced  the  same  jarring  of 
the  balloon.  At  4:49  my  ballast  was  exhausted,  excepting  a few  pounds,  which  it 
was  necessary  to  retain  for  use,  if  necessary,  in  avoiding  the  dangers  of  a landing 
in  a precipitous  region.  I therefore  opened  the  valve  of  the  balloon  and  de- 
scended at  4:55  p.  m.  in  a valley  on  the  southeast  side  of  Mount  Franklin,  about 
6 miles  (in  a direct  line)  east-northeast  from  the  starting  point,  and  7 miles  north- 
east from  El  Paso.  After  folding  the  balloon  and  depositing  it  in  a safe  place,  I 
started  for  El  Paso  around  the  south  end  of  the  mountain.  I soon  met  Mr.  Jen- 
nings with  horses,  and  after  sending  word  to  Mr.  Fairchild,  who  was  farther  up 
4he  valley,  we  proceeded  to  the  city.  On  the  outskirts  of  the  city  we  met  Dr. 
D.  M.  Appel  and  a party  of  men  from  Fort  Bliss,  whom  Maj.  Henton  had  very 
considerately  detailed  to  render  any  necessary  assistance. 

The  record  of  observations  made  are  given  below. 


30 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


Observations  made  September  17. 


Altitude  above— 

Temper- 

ature 

(cor- 

rected). 

Rela- 

tive 

humid- 

ity. 

Dew- 

point. 

Abso- 

lute 

humid- 

ity. 

Wind 

Wind  velocity 
(approximate). 

Time 

(local). 

Sea 

level. 

El  Paso. 

direc- 

tion. 

Feet. 

3, 900 

Feet. 

200 

O 

89. 

23 

O 

46 

Grains. 

3. 539 

0 

0 

P.M. 

4. 00 

4, 200 

500 

86. 

30 

50 

4.077 

N. 

Very  light. 

4.07 

4,700 

1,000 

1.500 

80. 

24 

40 

2.  849 

NW. 

Very  light. 

5, 200 

75.4 

31 

43 

3.178 

W. 

Light. 

5,800 

2,100 

72.9 

30 

40 

2. 849 

w. 

6 miles  per  hour. 

6,  400 

2.700 

72.9 

30 

40 

2. 849 

s. 

10  miles  per  hour. 

4. 35 

7,000 

3,300 

71.  9- 

30 

38 

2.  646 

w. 

Light. 

7,200 

3,500 

67.9 

31 

36 

2.  457 

sw. 

Light. 

7, 500 

3, 800 

66. 

30 

34 

2.  280 

sw. 

Very  light. 

8,000 

4,300 

60. 

65 

48 

3. 8015 

w. 

Very  light. 

4.44 

*4,  300 

600 

81. 

29 

45 

3.  415 

SE. 

6 miles  per  hour. 

6. 00 

+3, 717 

0 

83. 

26- 

44 

3. 295 

E. 

2 miles  per  hour. 

J6.  00 

*Mt.  Franklin.  t At  El  Paso.  $ Weather  Bureau. 

Note. — The  exceedingly  dry  condition  of  the  atmosphere  immediately  above 
El  Paso  at  the  time  these  observations  were  made  and  during*  the  subsequent 
experiment,  may  perhaps  be  better  comprehended  by  those  not  conversant  with 
meteorological  figures,  when  it  is  stated  that  during  such  conditions,  if  rain  fell 
from  the  clouds  overhead  in  quantities  sufficient  to  make  12  inches  of  rainfall  in 
a more  humid  climate  (the  entire  average  annual  rainfall  at  El  Paso  is  less  than 
12  inches),  but  should  descend  so  slowly  or  in  such  small  drops  as  to  be  entirely 
evaporated  in  the  air  before  reaching  the  earth,  the  average  relative  humidity 
would  still  be  less  than  35,  or  about  one-half  the  average  humidity  throughout 
the  Northern  States.  An  amount  of  water  equal  to  a flood  about  2 feet  in  depth 
over  all  the  surface  of  the  land  in  that  locality,  could  be  evaporated  in  the  air 
before  it  would  become  as  moist  as  the  atmosphere  generally  is  throughout  the 
Eastern  and  Northern  States. 

It  will  be  seen  that  while  the  relative  humidity  was  considerably  higher  in  the 
upper  strata  than  at  the  surface,  yet  the  absolute  humidity  increased  only  slightly, 
and  the  dew  point  was  lower ; the  increase  in  relative  humidity  being  due  mostly 
to  the  decrease  in  temperature.  If  the  cloud  stratum,  which  was  very  high, 
could  have  been  reached,  a greater  amount  of  moisture  would  doubtless  have 
been  found,  but  the  presence  of  a stratum  of  exceedingly  dry  air  5,000  feet  thick, 
below  the  moist  strata,  would  effectually  prevent  any  considerable  quantity  of 
rain  from  reaching  the  earth  below,  even  if  heavy  clouds  were  condensed  above 
and  caused  in  some  way  to  precipitate  their  moisture. 

In  fact,  it  is  a matter  of  frequent  occurrence  in  this  region  to  see  rain  falling 
in  torrents  from  heavy  nimbus  clouds  high  above  the  earth,  but  evaporating  so 
rapidly  in  the  descent  as  to  disappear  entirely  before  reaching  the  earth,  some- 
times even  before  it  has  fallen  a half  or  a third  of  the  distance.  If  the  jarring 
together  of  the  particles  of  moisture  in  suspension  in  the  air  and  the  consequent 
releasing  of  latent  heat  is  an  important  factor  in  the  disturbance  of  the  atmos- 
phere for  generating  a storm  center,  it  would  seem  that  such  a locality  as  the 
Rio  Grande  valley  at  El  Paso,  where  the  moist  strata  are  almost  always  at  so 
great  a height,  would  be  a peculiarly  difficult  place  in  which  to  obtain  the 
desired  effect.  Upon  the  Staked  Plains,  and  in  the  southern  part  of  Texas;  the 
moist  cloud  strata  were  much  lower,  even  during  the  dryest  days.  This  is  dem- 
onstrated by  the  fact  that  on  numerous  occasions  when  the  air  at  the  surface  of 
the  earth  was  exceedingly  dry,  but  with  broken  cumulus  clouds  floating  over- 
head, the  explosion  of  a few  pounds  of  dynamite  on  the  ground  would  jar  show- 
ers from  the  clouds,  and  the  drops  fell  to  the  earth,  sometimes  inside  of  ten  or 
twelve  seconds,  showing  that  the  clouds  were  so  low  that  the  wave  of  concussion 
had  reached  them  and  the  resultant  drops  had  fallen  from  the  cloud  to  the  ground 
in  that  time.  If,  again,  the  effect  of  the  explosion  of  the  balloons  directly  in  the 
moist  currents  is  important,  another  difficulty  in  the  way  of  successful  work  pre- 
sents itself  at  El  Paso;  for  the  altitude  of  the  moist  currents  is  so  great  and  the 
dry  surface  winds  have  such  a high  velocity  that  it  is  difficult  to  get  a balloon  to 
attain  a Sufficient  height  before  exploding.  The  test,  therefore,  at  El  Paso  was 
to  be  a peculiarly  severe  one  under  any  circumstances. 

Moreover,  upon  the  following  day,  the  18th,  a strong  wind  set'  in  from  the 
southwest,  rolling  vast  quantities  of  hot,  dry  air  from  the  great  desert  region, 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


31 


the  Sahara  of  North  America,  which  lies  just  west  of  El  Paso  and  the  Rio  Grande 
valley  and  extends  to  the  Sierras  and  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  California.  In 
many  portions  of  this  great  desert  rain  is  practically  unknown  and  the  wind  from 
that  quarter,  which  set  in  at  El  Paso  during  the  morning  of  the  18th,  was  so  hot 
and  dusty  that  the  sky  took  on  a copper  hue ; every  vestige  of  the  showers  which 
had  recently  fallen  in  the  vicinity  were  driven  far  away  to  the.  east,  and,  so  far 
as  the  conditions  of  the  atmosphere  were  concerned,  the  test  might  as  well  have 
been  made  in  the  very  midst  of  the  desert  instead  of  on  its  border. 

However,  despite  the  unusually  unfavorable  condition,  it  seemed  best  to  proceed 
with  the  experiment  and  observe  what  effect,  if  any,  the  explosions  would  pro- 
duce ; any  postponement  in  order  to  secure  normal  conditions  being  especially 
undesirable,  on  account  of  the  fact  that  a large  number  of  prominent  people  from 
Texas,  New  Mexico,  and  Arizona,  and  from  Chihuahua  and  Sonora,  Mexico,  were 
present,  by  invitation  of  El  Paso,  to  witness  the  experiment,  and  would  be  incon- 
venienced by  the  delay. 

At  8 a.  m.  we  were  joined  at  the  balloon  apparatus  by  a detachment  of  United 
States  troops  from  Fort  Bliss,  which,  at  my  request,  had  been  detailed  by  Maj. 
Henton  to  assist  in  the  work.  The  detachment  consisted  of  twenty  privates  and 
two  noncommissioned  officers  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  S.  Allen  Dyer,  of 
Company  D,  Twenty-third  Infantry,  U.  S.  Army,  and  rendered  valuable  assist- 
ance. 

Mr.  Jennings,  accompanied  by  ten  of  Lieut.  Dyer’s  men,  proceeded  to  the  sum- 
mit of  Mount  Franklin,  where  all  the  preparations  had  been  made  for  maintain- 
ing a continuous  fire  of  dynamite  and  rackarock  throughout  the  day. 

In  the  meantime,  the  hydrogen-generator  was  recharged  and  balloons  and  fit- 
tings were  unpacked.  The  balloons  were  first  charged  with  oxygen  from  the 
cylinders  which  had  arrived  on  the  preceding  day  and  were  then  attached  to  the 
hydrogen-generator  for  the  completion  of  the  inflation. 

At  10:30  a.  m.  the  temperature  on  the  mesa  was  84°,  the  relative  humidity  38°, 
dewpoint  59,  and  the  barometer  indicated  a pressure  of  30.11  inches,  having 
slowly  risen  during  the  preceding  forty-eight  hours. 

At  10:35  the  first  explosion  was  fired  from  Mount  Franklin  by  Mr.  Jennings 
and  his  men,  and  from  that  time  until  7 :30  p.  m.  the  explosions  at  that  point  oc- 
curred at  intervals  of  three  minutes;  206  charges  of  from  2 to  50  pounds  of  dyna- 
mite and  rackarock  being  fired,  and  550  pounds  of  the  explosives  being  used. 
Between  11  a.  m.  and  12:30  p.  m,  2-pound  charges  of  dynamite  were  exploded  at  in- 
tervals of  two  minutes  on  a hill  1 ,000  yards  west  of  the  gas  generator.  About 
fifty  charges  were  fired  at  this  point. 

At  1:30  p.  m.  the  first  balloon,  containing  525  feet  of  oxy-hydrogen  gas,  was  ex- 
ploded at  an  altitude  of  3,000  feet,  and  from  that  time  until  5:30  p.  m.,  eight  bal- 
loons of  the  same  capacity  were  exploded  at  thirty-minute  intervals  and  at  alti- 
tudes varying  from  500  to  4,000  feet.  From  2 to  4 p.  m.  about  fifty  charges  of 
dynamite  were  fired  at  short  intervals  on  the  mesa  southeast  of  the  generator, 
and  bombshells  were  thrown  from  a mortar  at  intervals  of  five  minutes  during 
that  time,  and  exploded  at  altitudes  of  500  to  1,000  feet. 

From  7:30  to  8 p.  m.  the  bombs  from  the  mortars  were  fired  at  intervals  of  one 
minute  each,  exploding  high  in  the  air  with  great  force.  At  8 p.  m.  a balloon, 
containing  525  feet  of  the  explosive  gases,  was  fired  at  an  altitude  of  2,000  feet 
and  a 12-foot  balloon  of  950-foot  capacity  was  exploded  at  an  altitude  of  4,000  feet. 
This  exhausted  all  the  available  material,  and  the  firing  ceased.  Between  the 
hours  of  10:30  a.  m.  and  8 p.  m.  370  heavy  explosions  had  been  made,  the  inter- 
vals between  averaging  one  and  two-thirds  minutes. 

During  the  day  the  wind  had  blown  from  the  west  and  southwest  from  the  dry 
region,  at  an  average  velocity  of  7 miles  an  hour,  and  at  8 p.  m.,  when  the  firing- 
ceased,  was  still  blowing  lightly  toward  the  northeast.  At  this  time  clouds  ana 
lightning  could  be  seen  in  the  east  and  northeast,  the  direction  toward  which 
the  wind  had  been  blowing  during  the  firing.  Soon  after  8p.m.  the  wind  died 
out,  rising  again  very  lightly  soon  after  10  p.  m.,  but  coming  then  from  the  north- 
east, a direction  diametrically  opposite  to  that  from  which  it  had  been  blowing 
before;  broken  clouds  began  to  appear,  coming  from  the  northeast  over  Mount 
Franklin.  At  11  p.  m.  clouds  also  began  to  form  overhead,  a thin  stratus  cloud 
gradually  spreading  and  growing  heavier  until  at  12.30  a.  m.  two-thirds  of  the 
sky  was  thickly  overcast  and  every  appearance  indicated  rain.  At  this  time  the 
temperature  was  69.5°,  the  relative  humidity  64,  absolute  humidity  5.12  gr.,and 
dew  point  57,  and  the  barometer  indicated  a pressure  (corrected)  of  29.91  inches, 
having  fallen  .17  of  an  inch  during  the  firing  and  showing  a net  fall  of  .16  of  an 
inch  during  the  twenty-four  hours  ending  at  11  p.  m. 

Soon  after  midnight  the  clouds  began  to  pass  off  to  the  south,  no  rain  having 


32 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


fallen,  and  at  3:30  a.  m.  the  barometer,  which  had  fallen  to  29.91,  began  to 
rise.  By  sunrise  the  sky  was  clear,  except  for  the  clouds  which  could  still  be 
seen  in  the  southeast,  and  the  indications  for  rain  had  disappeared.  A heavy 
dew  had  fallen  during  the  night,  an  occurrence  which,  I am  reliably  informed, 
had  never  been  known  before  in  that  region. 

From  inquiries  by  mail  and  telegraph  on  the  morning  of  the  19th,  it  was  as- 
certained that  soon  after  midnight  rain  had  begun  to  fall  within  a few  zniles  of 
El  Paso,  to  the  south  and  southeast,  evidently  coming  from  the  clouds  which  had 
formed  over  the  city,  during  the  explosions,  and,  between  midnight  and  morn- 
ing, a heavy  rainstorm  had  passed  down  the  Rio  Grande  valley,  copiously  wet- 
ting the  valley,  including  a few  miles  of  the  contiguous  portions  of  Texas  and 
Mexico. 

It  is  a circumstance  worthy  of  careful  notice  that  the  direction  of  the  course 
of  this  storm  seems  to  have  been  directly  opposite  to  the  constant  course  of  the 
rainstorms  which  occur  in  that  region  and  which  are  almost  invariably  from  the 
Gulf  country  in  the  east  and  southeast,  toward  the  arid  mountain  region  to  the 
west  and  northwest,  while  this  disturbance  evidently  originated  in  the  midst  of 
this  dry  region  about  El  Paso,  after  leaving  El  Paso  traveling  down  the  Rio 
Grande  valley  from  northwest  to  southeast,  a direction  from  which  only  the  dri- 
est winds  are  expected. 

The  materials  consumed  in  the  El  Paso  test  were  as  follows: 


From  the  stores  of  the  expedition: 

Nine  10-foot  diameter  balloons,  at  $25 $225.  00 

One  12-foot  diameter  balloon,  at  $35 35.  00 

1,600  pounds  sulphuric  acid,  at  $1.32  per  cwt 21. 12 

3,000  pounds  cast-iron  borings,  at  50  cents  per  cwt 15.  00 

400  electrical  exploders,  at  3 cents _• 12. 00 

Rope,  wire,  etc ,. 8.00 

150  pounds  of  B rackarock 25.00 


Total 341.12 

Salaries  of  members  of  expedition  during  twelve  days  spent  at  El  Paso. . 192. 00 


Total  cost  to  Government 533. 12 


Expenses  paid  by  outside  parties  (by  the  city  of  El  Paso): 

500  pounds  of  dynamite,  at  15  cents 75.  00 

2,000  cubic  feet  oxygen  gas,  at  5 cents 100. 00 

6 dozen  bombshells,  at  $17  per  dozen 102. 00 

Expressage  on  oxygen  and  bombs  and  return  freight  charges  on 

cylinders  (estimated ) 250. 00 

Hotel  bill  of  party  (estimated) 90.00 

Teams  and  labor  (estimated) 150. 00 


Total.. 767.00 


Total  expense  of  El  Paso  test  (approximate) 1, 300. 00 


Among  those  present  at  the  El  Paso  experiment  were:  Mayor  Richard  Caples, 
of  El  Paso,  and  the  mayor  of  Ciudad  Juarez,  Chihuahua,  Mexico;  Maj.  James 
Henton,  Twenty-third  Infantry,  U.  S.  Army,  commanding  officer  at  Fort  Bliss; 
Dr.  D.  M.  Appel,  post  surgeon  at  Fort  Bliss;  Lieut.  S.  Allen  Dyer,  Company  D, 
Twenty-third  Infantry,  U.  S.  Army,  acting  signal  officer,  Fort  Bliss;  Capt.  Juan 
S.  Hart,  editor,  and  J.  A.  Ponder,  city  editor,  El  Paso  Daily  Times  (representing 
the  Associated  Press) ; the  editors  of  the  El  Paso  Daily  Tribune  and  El  Paso  Daily 
Herald:  Hon.  George  W.  Fulton,  jr.,  Colman-Fulton  Pasture  Company,  Gregory, 
Tex.;  Dr.  Y.  M.  Yandell,  El  Paso,  health  officer;  Mr.  N.  D.  Lane,  El  Paso,  ob- 
server U.  S.  Weather  Bureau;  Mr.  William  A.  Bowen,  secretary  San  Antonio 
Commercial  Exchange;  Lieut.  Bartlett  of  the  Artillery,  from  Fort  Sam  Houston, 
San  Antonio,  and  Mr.  Herbert  Stranathan,  of  the  staff  of  the  St.  Louis  Post- 
Dispatch. 


THE  SAN  DIEGO  EXPERIMENT. 

On  August  30,  Mr.  Robert  J.  Kleberg,  representing  the  King  Ranch  (of  700,000 
acres)  near  Corpus  Christi,  Tex.,  and  Hon.  N.  G.  Collins,  of  San  Diego,  had  called 
at  the  C ranch,  Midland,  having  come  to  investigate  the  outcome  of  the  Midland 
experiments  and  to  urge  that  some  experiments  be  made  by  the  Government 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


33 


party,  in  their  locality.  These  gentlemen  stated  that  their  region  was  suffering 
from  very  severe  drought,  and  that  the  results  of  a successful  test  would  be  of 
great  immediate  benefit  to  the  country. 

Since  at  this  time  (August  30),  the  appropriation  could  not  afford  the  expense 
of  a test  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State,  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  inform  the 
gentlemen  that  it  would  be  impossible  for  you  to  pay  the  expenses. . They  re- 
quested that  I furnish  them  with  some  idea  of  the  expense  of  an  experiment  such, 
as  they  proposed,  and  that  I mail  them,  as  soon  as  convenient,  a more  detailed 
estimate  of  the  expenditures  necessary,  and  meanwhile  they  would  return  to 
Corpus  Christi  and  arrange  for  the  payment  of  the  expenses  by  those  in  the 
neighborhood  who  were  interested  in  the  matter.  This  I did,  and  stated  that 
we  could  reach  Corpus  Christi  on  or  before  September  24.  On  September  9,  I 
received  the  following  telegram  from  Mr.  Kleberg: 

“Corpus  Christi,  Tex.,  September  9. 

Have  ordered  everything  by  wire.  Money  ready  to  pay  all  expense. 

R.  J.  Kleberg.” 

And  on  September  12  the  following: 

“ Everything  ordered.  Come  to  Corpus  Christi. 

Robert  J.  Kleberg.” 

Having  reported  their  proposal  and  plans  to  you  and  received  your  approval, 
I arranged  to  go  to  Corpus  Christi  immediately  after  completing  the  work  at 
El  Paso. 

Hon.  George  W.  Fulton,  Jr.,  came  to  El  Paso  from  Corpus  Christi,  represent- 
ing the  parties  who  had  subscribed  toward  the  expenses  of  the  proposed  tests 
there,  to  witness  the  El  Paso  experiment  and  to  complete  arrangements  for  the 
operations  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State.  At  his  request,  Gen.  Stanley  detailed 
Lieut.  Dyer,  with  two  non-commissioned  officers  and  eight  privates  from  Compa- 
nies B and  D,  Twenty-third  Infantry,  at  Fort  Bliss,  to  assist  us  in  southern  Texas. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  Mr.  E.  G.  .Bleker,  general  manager  of  the  Texas  lines 
of  the  Southern  Pacific  Company,  and  Mr.  R.  W.  Andrews,  passenger  agent  of 
the  San  Antonio  and  Aransas  Pass  Railroad,  I obtained  free  transportation  for 
the  fifteen  members  of  our  party  and  our  freight,  from  El  Paso  to  Corpus  Christi 
(780  miles)  and  return. 

After  loading  and  shipping  our  freight,  we  left  El  Paso,  with  Lieut.  Dyer  and 
his  men,  on  September  23.  We  reached  San  Antonio,  the  following  morning 
arid  were  met  by  Mr.  William  A.  Bowen,  secretary  of  the  San  Antonio  Commer- 
cial Exchange,  who  took  us  to  the  rooms  of  the  exchange  where  a number  of 
representative  citizens  of  San  Antonio,  including  President  Hugo  of  the  Board  of 
Trade,  Mr.  R.W.  Andrews  of  the  San  Antonio  and  Aransas  Pass  Railroad  and  the 
editors  of  the  city  papers,  had  gathered  to  talk  with  us  concerning  the  experi- 
ments and  the  prospect  of  our  being  able  to  come  to  San  Antonio  for  a test  in  the 
near  future.  That  region,  like  the  rest  of  the  State,  was  experiencing  an  un- 
usually dry  season.  At  1:30  p.  m. , we  started  on  to  Corpus  Christi,  reaching  that 
point  at  8 p.  m.  During  the  afternoon,  a heavy  rain  had  set  in  from  off  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  and  the  weather  continued  stormy  for  several  days.  On  account  of  the 
rainy  weather,  we  postponed,  indefinitely,  any  important  experiment,  but  on  Sep- 
tember 26,  an  unimportant  trial  was  made  of  some  bombs  which  had  been  re- 
ceived from  New  York.  At  3 p.  m.,  twelve  of  the  bombs  and  two  mortars  were 
carried  in  a carriage  to  an  elevated  spot  about  1 mile  west  of  the  Corpus  Christi 
Railroad  station  where  they  were  unpacked  and  the  mortars  set  up. 

The  weather  was  threatening,  several  slight  showers  having  fallen  during  the 
afternoon,  and  cumulus  clouds  passing  overhead  at  intervals.  A brisk  wind  was 
blowing  from  the  northeast,  and  the  clouds  were  moving  rapidly.  Just  as  a 
heavy  cumulus  cloud  came  well  overhead,  four  bombs  were  shot  f rom  the  mortars 
and  exploded  at  a height  of  about  500  feet.  No  rain  was  falling  at  the  time,  and  it 
could  be  plainly  seen  that  none  was  falling  anywhere  in  the  vicinity.  A few  seconds 
after  theexplosions,  scattered  drops  began  to  fall,  and  as  the  cloud  passed  rapidly 
on  towards  the  southwest,  the  rain  could  be  seen  falling  from  it  in  a brisk  shower . 
When  another  cloud  came  overhead,  four  more  bombs  were  fired,  and  the  same 
result  was  observed  except  that  the  shower  was  heavier  than  the  first.  Finally 
a heavier  cloud  than  usual  passed  over,  and  the  explosion  of  four  more  bombs 
was  immediately  followed  by  a downpour  which  lasted  for  several  minutes  and 
soaked  the  party  to  the  skin  before  they  could  enter  a carriage.  As  this  shower 
passed  on  southwest,  it  could  be  seen  to  grow  heavier  and  spread  out  over  a 
much  broader  path. 

As  the  rainy  weather  continued,  the  advisability  of  abandoning  the  experi- 
ments in  that  region  was  discussed  ; but  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  wait  a few 

S.  Ex.  45 3 


34 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


days,  and  see  how  long  the  wet  weather  would  continue.  Camp  equipage  and 
commissary  supplies  were  provided  by  the  citizens’ committee,  and  on  September 
28,  the  expedition  proceeded  to  San  Diego,  a small  station  on  the  Mexican  Na- 
tional Railroad,  the  county  seat  of  Duval  County , 55  miles  west  of  Corpus  Christi, 
where  the  drought  had  been  very  severe  and  there  had  been  a deficiency  of  rain 
for  several  years.  Very  little  of  the  rain  which  had  fallen  on  the  coast  during 
the  preceding  days  had  penetrated  so  far  inland , and  the  fall  there  had  been 
much  less. 

Camp  was  pitched  near  a windmill  pump,  li  miles  northeast  of  the  San  Diego 
station,  and  two  hydrogen-generators  were  setup.  The  rainy  weather  gradually 
cleared  up,  the  last  shower  falling  on  the  3d  of  October,  when  the  Weather  Bu- 
reau office  at  Corpus  Christi  recorded  0.10  of  an  inch  and  a slight  sprinkle  fell  at 
San  Diego.  On  October  4,  a “norther”  arose  which  quickly  drove  away  every 
sign  of  rain.  “ Norther  ” is  the  name  applied  in  Texas  to  cool,  dry  winds  which 
sweep  down  from  the  north  over  the  hot,  dry  plains,  generally  with  a velocity 
of  from  10  to  20  miles  an  hour.  Having  their  origin  in  the  elevated  arid  regions 
of  the  Northwest,  and  passing  over  thousands  of  miles  of  dry  prairie  country  be- 
fore reaching  Texas,  the  “ northers  ” or  “ dry  northers,”  as  they  are  frequently 
called,  are,  by  all  means,  the  dryest  winds  that  ever  blow  in  that  region.  The 
“northers”  are  not  shallow  currents,  as  many  of  our  surface  winds  are,  but, 
generally,  as  we  found  by  sending  small  balloons  up  into  them,  they  extend  up- 
wards to  a height  of  two  miles  or  more,  forming  a thick  stratum  of  extremely 
dry  air — a condition  of  the  atmosphere  under  which,  according  to  the  theories 
we  were  testing,  as  well  as  to  the  accepted  principles  of  the  formation  of  rain- 
storms, it  would  seem  to  be  utterly  impossible  to  produce  rain  by  any  means. 

On  the  10th  the  “ norther”  subsided,  but  another  was  foretold  for  the  12th  by 
the  Weather  Bureau  office  at  Corpus  Christi.  This  one  dissipated,  however,  be- 
fore reaching  Texas,  and  on  the  15th,  being  informed  by  the  Weather  Bureau  that 
all  indications  promised  normal,  dry  weather,  we  began  work. 

After  a full  discussion  of  the  matter  with  Lieut.  Dyer,  the  following  plan  was 
decided  upon : 

First.  The  principal  explosions  should  take  place  at  night  time,  on  account  of 
the  fact  that  the  heavy  winds  which  prevail  during  the  day,  subside  soon  after 
sunset  and  the  night  is  comparatively  quiet,  therefore  offering  fewer  difficulties 
to  the  manipulation  of  the  balloon  apparatus.  It  was  also  thought  that  the  high 
winds  of  the  daytime  might  tend  to  dissipate  the  effect  of  the  explosions. 

Second.  A preliminary  firing,  with  the  explosions  occurring  at  intervals  of 
five  or  ten  minutes,  should  be  kept  up  during  several  hours,  commencing  early 
in  the  morning  of  Friday,  the  16th  of  October,  and  continuing  through  the  day 
and  following  night,  in  order  to  observe  the  effect  of  explosions  occurring  at  con- 
siderable intervals  as  compared  with  a shorter  series  of  much  more  rapid  ex- 
plosions which  should  keep  up  a constant  agitation  of  the  air. 

Third.  On  the  night  of  October  17,  taking  advantage  of  whatever  meteorolog- 
ical disturbances  the  preliminary  firing  had  caused,  the  principal  and  final  ope- 
ration should  take  place,  consisting  of  about  1,000  very  heavy  explosions  occur- 
ring in  rapid  succession. 

The  night  of  October  15  was  perfectly  clear,  and  at  6 p.m.,  the  barometer  in- 
dicated a pressure  of  30.07  (corrected). 

At  1 a.  m.,  Friday,  October  16,  with  the  wind  blowing  from  the  southeast  at 
about  5 miles  per  hour,  the  firing  of  dynamite  and  rackarock  was  begun  and  was 
continued  until  3 a.  m.,  the  explosions  occurring  at  comparatively  frequent  in- 
tervals, five  dynamos  being  used.  The  first  balloon  was  exploded  at  2 a.  m.,  a 
second  at  4 a.  m. , and  a third  at  7 a.  m.  In  the  mean  time,  three  hundred  21-pound 
charges  of  dynamite  and  rackarock  had  been  fired.  The  firing  of  dynamite  was 
then  continued  in  3-pound  charges,  at  five-minute  intervals,  until  12:30  p.  m. 

During  the  16th,  the  wind  continued  to  blow  from  the  southeast,  attaining  a ve- 
locity of  15  miles  an  hour.  In  the  afternoon,  a few  cumulus  clouds  passed  over- 
head, but,  as  night  approached,  they  gradually  disappeared.  At  6 p.  m.  the 
barometer  stood  at  30.02,  having  fallen  slightly  in  the  twenty-four  hours.  At  5 
p.  m.  the  firing  of  five-minute  explosions  was  renewed,  the  charges  consisting 
of  21  pounds  of  rackarock  and  a quarter  pound  of  dynamite,  the  use  of  a portion 
of  dynamite  having  been  found  effective  in  producing  a better  explosion  of  the 
rackarock. 

At  6 p.  m.  a 10-foot  balloon  was  exploded  and  the  firing  of  dynamite  was  con- 
tinued till  8 o’clock.  At  11  p.  m.,  a second  10-foot  balloon  was  fired  and  three 
more  followed  at  intervals  of  seventy-five  minutes  each,  the  last  being  exploded 
at  3 o’clock  a.  m.  At  that  time,  (the  morning  of  Saturday,  the  17th,)  the  sky  was 
clear,  the  wind  was  fresh  from  the  south,  having  blown  from  that  direction  since 
10  p.  m.,  and  the  barometric  pressure  was  30.09.  The  Weather  Bureau  reports 


35 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 

show  that  a region  of  several  hundred  square  miles  directly  northwest  of  us  had 
become  overcast  with  clouds  during  the  night. 

There  was  no  more  firing  throughout  the  day  of  the  17th  until  evening,  but 
preparations  were  immediately  begun  for  the  formidable  task  of  firing,  with  as 
little  danger  of  accident  as  possible,  7,000  cubic  feet  of  oxy-hydrogen  and  800 
charges  of  dynamite  and  other  explosives;  1,500  pounds  of  rackarock  and  dyna- 
mite were  bound  in  bundles  of  three  cartridges  of  the  former  (*2i  pounds)  and  one 
small  cartridge  of  the  latter  (i  pound)  with  the  electric  exploder  inserted  in  the 
dynamite  and  short  wires  extending,  ready  to  be  attached  to  the  electrical  con- 
ductors from  the  dynamos.  One  hundred  2-pound  cartridges  of  powder  were 
prepared  for  a cannon  and  the  work  of  generating  gas  for  the  balloon  explosion 
was  also  steadily  pushed. 

The  dynamo  dischargers  and  connecting  wires  were  rearranged  so  that  the 
explosions  would  not  be  so  close  together,  as  the  great  concussion  caused  severe 
headache  to  the  operators.  Between  5 and  6 p.  m.,  a few  charges  were  fired  to 
test  the  new  wire. 

At  6 p.  m.,  the  thermometer  indicated  a temperature  of  79°,  the  barometric 
pressure  was  30.11  and  the  barometer  was  steadily  rising;  the  relative  humidity 
was  48,  wind  fresh  from  the  southeast,  and  sky  clear,  but  for  a slight  patch  of 
light  clouds,  evidently  50  miles  away,  on  the  northwest  horizon,  in  the  direction 
toward  which  the  wind  had  been  carrying  all  the  disturbances  of  the  firing  of 
the  preceding  thirty -six  hours.  This  cloud  had  been  observed  since  2 p.  m., 
and  since  that  time  had  not  changed  its  position.  A careful  observation  during 
the  four  hours  showed  that  it  was  not  approaching,  but  evidently  rested  station- 
ary. During  the  afternoon,  fearing  that  the  distant  spot  of  cloud  might  be  an 
indication  of  a “norther,”  which  I knew  would  render  futile  an  attempt  to  pro- 
duce rain  by  any  means  at  that  time,  I carefully  questioned  a number  of  the 
most  intelligent  citizens  and  ranchmen  of  that  locality,  who  were  present  to  wit- 
ness the  experiment,  and  received  positive  and  unanimous  assurance,  first,  that 
the  cloud  spot  was  not  a forerunner  of  a “norther,”  being  entirely  diffe’  ent  from 
the  dull,  lead-colored  clouds  which  sometimes  accompany  a very  cold  “norther,” 
and  also,  secondly,  that  there  was  not  the  slightest  chance  of  rain  from  that  cloud 
or  from  any  clouds  in  that  direction,  as  they  never  had  rain  from  that  quarter. 

Believing,  however,  that  any  effect  of  the  explosions  upon  the  atmosphere 
must  have  been  carried  in  that  direction,  and  recalling  the  reversing  of  the 
wind  at  both  Midland  and  El  Paso,  after  the  firing  at  those  points,  we  watched 
the  cloud  very  closely.  Several  times  during  the  afternoon,  lightning  was  seen 
beneath  it.  A 10-foot  balloon  sent  up  at  this  time,  to  ascertain  the  direction  of 
the  upper  currents  of  the  air,  revealed  the  fact  that  at  an  altitude  of  about  4 miles 
there  was,  as  is  usually  the  case,  a current  moving  in  the  opposite  direction  to 
the  wind  on  the  surface,  that  is,  from  northwest  to  southeast. 

At  9 p.  m.  all  arrangements  had  been  completed  and  the  following  parapher- 
nalia was  in  position,  viz  : 

Six  dynamos  with  two  double  conductors  leading  from  each  to  a safe  distance, 
for  the  explosion  of  dynamite,  these  dynamite  batteries  being  arranged  in  a semi- 
circle of  three-fourths  of  a mile  diameter,  southeast  of  the  balloon  apparatus. 

Five  mortars  for  throwing  21-pounder  bombshells  into  the  air,  these  being 
located  to  the  left  of  the  dynamite  line. 

One  12-pound  cannon  to  the  left  and  north  of  the  mortars. 

Beside  each  dynamo  Was  a pile  of  rackarock,  consisting  of  about  one  hundred 
21-pound  charges  for  each  dynamo,  and  ready  primed  with  electric  exploders. 
One  hundred  bombs  were  piled  beside  the  mortars,  which  had  been  sunk  in  the 
ground  to  prevent  accidents  from  explosions.  One  hundred  cartridges  were  also 
piled  beside  the  cannon.  At  the  gas  apparatus  four  balloons  had  been  filled  and 
were  anchored,  with  fuses  inserted  ready  for  firing,  and  two  more  were  in  the 
course  of  inflation. 

The  dynamite  battery  was  manned  with  two  men  for  each  discharger,  one  of 
whom  should  attach  the  charges  to  the  wires,  and  the  other  work  the  dynamo. 
The  wires  were  so  arranged  that  each  dynamo  could  explode  two  of  the  heavy 
rackarock  charges  in  rapid  succession,  every  minute,  and  every  precaution  was 
taken  to  guard  against  accidents.  The  mortars  and  cannon  were  handled  by 
Lieut.  Dyer  and  two  men— Mr.  Fairchild  and  Mr.  Casler ; I operated  the  balloon 
apparatus,  and  Mr.  Jennings  had  charge  of  the  dynamite  batteries. 

At  9:45  p.  m.,'the  first  balloon  was  started  off.  As  it  ascended,  easily  visible  by 
the  fact  that  it  was  a moonlight  night,  the  men  at  the  batteries  made  ready,  and 
the  moment  the  flash  of  the  explosion  was  seen,  the  dynamite  and  mortar  bat- 
teries and  the  cannon  were  exploded,  the  flash  of  the  balloon  serving  as  a signal 
for  these  explosions,  the  roar  of  the  ground  explosions  mingling  with  the  crash 
S.  Ex.  5 6 


36 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


of  the  explosion  of  about  1,000  cubic  feet  of  oxy-hydrogen  gas  produced  a concus- 
sive  effect  of  tremendous  force,  and  the  ground  was  shaken  for  miles,  as  we  af- 
terwards learned,  in  every  direction. 

From  9:45  to  11:30  p.  m.,  the  explosions  were  continued  at  the  rate  of  ten  amin- 
ute.  The  men  were  instructed  to  bunch  the  firing  into  volleys,  so  that  at  times 
a dozen  explosions  occurred  in  half  as  many  seconds. 

The  hundreds  of  spectators  who  had  come  from  San  Diego  and  other  towns  near 
by,  crowded  together  in  a frightened  mass  in  the  open  space  in  the  midst  of  the 
camp.  As  soon  as  they  were  assured  that  passage  was  safe  along  the  roadway  a 
large  majority  of  the  spectators  started  for  their  homes. 

At  midnight,  after  the  rapid  firing  had  ceased,  those  who  had  remained,  also 
left  the  camp,  the  believers  in  “rainmaking”  being  sadly  disappointed  and  all 
being  positive  that  the  test  was  a complete  failure,  for  the  sky  overhead  was 
never  clearer  and  the  moon  never  shone  more  brightly.  The  fact  that  the  edge 
of  the  light  cloud  in  the  northwest  seemed  to  be  nearer,  did  not  have  the  slight- 
est weight  with  any  of  the  many  ranchmen  present,  for  they  were  confident  that 
no  rain  could  come  from  that  quarter,  and  all  were  convinced  that  the  test  was  a 
failure. 

At  6 p.  m.,  the  barometer  had  indicated  a pressure  of  30.11  inches,  which  is 
above  the  normal.  Since  that  time  it  had  continued  its  steady  rise  and  now- 
showed  30.24  inches,  and  was  still  ascending.  The  relative  humidity  had  risen 
from  48  at  6p.  m.,  to  84  at  10.15,  and  92  at  midnight.  The  temperature  had  fallen 
in  that  time  from  79°  to  65.5°.  The  absolute  humidity  of  the  air  had  increased 
from  5.018  gr.  per  cubic  feet  at  6 p.  m.,  with  the  dew-point  at  56°,  to  6.35  gr.  at 
midnight,  with  the  dew-point  at  63°.  The  wind  continued  from  the  southeast  at 
about  4 miles  per  hour  on  the  surface,  with  a greater  velocity  above,  as  was  indi- 
cated by  balloon  movements.  The  sky  was  perfectly  clear  except  for  the  cloud 
in  the  northwest,  which,  after  resting  stationary  for  nine  or  ten  hours,  had  evi- 
dently begun  to  approach  at  about  11  o’clock,  after  the  heavy  firing  had  been  in 
progress  an  hour  and  fifteen  minutes. 

Up  to  midnight,  four  12-foot  balloons  containing  3,500  cubic  feet  of  oxy-hydro- 
gen  gas  had  been  exploded  and  about  eight  hundred  charges  of  other  violent 
explosives. 

Several  times  a heavy  ground  explosion  was  observed  to  create  a forcible  up- 
ward current,  taking  the  form  of  an  eddy  or  whirlpool,  accompanied  by  a ring 
of  smoke,  which  rose  with  a whirling  motion  high  into  the  air  attended  with  a 
peculiar  sound,  something  between  a whistle  and  a hoarse  m.oan,  heard  for  sev- 
eral moments  after  the  explosion. 

After  midnight,  balloons  alone  were  used,  being  sent  up  and  exploded  at  inter- 
vals of  forty-five  minutes,  the  approach  of  the  clouds,  meanwhile,  being  watched 
with  the  greatest  interest.  At  2 a.  m.,  when  they  had  risen  to  an  altitude  of 
about  25°  from  the  horizon,  they  seemed  entirely  to  cease  approaching  and  be- 
gan to  spread  out  steadily  in  both  directions  from  a point  directly  northwest,  of 
the  observers.  By  3 a.  m.,  that  which  had  been  a small  cloud  in  the  northwest, 
had  grown  and  spread  out,  extending  wings  to  left  and  right  which  circled 
around  us  both  to  the  west  and  east  in  what  soldiers  term  a ‘ 4 flanking  move- 
ment,” until  the  clouds  extended  all  around  three  sides  of  us,  to  the  west,  north, 
and  east. 

Meanwhile  the  clouds,  for  something  more  than  an  hour,  had  not  advanced 
toward  the  zenith,  the  sky  being  entirely  clear  down  to  the  edge  of  the  clouds, 
which  defined  an  irregular  line  extending  from  a point  in  the  southwest,  around 
three  sides  of  us,  at  an  elevation  of  about  25°  from  the  horizon,  to  a point  in  the 
southeast.  Up  to  3:50  a.  m.,  the  clouds  kept  creeping  around  us  in  both  direc- 
tions, in  an  unusual  manner,  starting  from  a center  in  the  northwest  where  the 
formation  and  growth  seemed  to  originate. 

At  about  2:30  a.  m.,  while  the  conditions  were  as  described  above,  a 10-foot 
balloon  was  sent  off  with  the  fuse  set  for  about  fifty  seconds.  As  it  rapidly  as- 
cended, we  were  surprised  at  its  unusual  actions,  for  instead  of  floating  steadily 
away,  as  usual,  upon  the  inclined  path  by  which  the  wind  would  carry  it,  this 
balloon  started  on  a slant  toward  the  northwest  and  when  it  had  reached  a 
height  of  a few  hundred  feet,  turned  sharply  back  toward  the  southeast  and  then 
made  several  other  changes  of  direction  before  exploding  at  an  altitude  of  about 
1,500  feet. 

The  actions  of  the  balloon  showed  plainly  that  there  was  some  unusual  dis- 
turbance of  the  air.  Our  balloonist  had  never  seen  such  action  before.  When 
the  next  balloon  was  released,  therefore,  at  3:20  a.  m.,  while  the  clouds  were  still 
strangely  holding  off  but  extending  around  us,  several  of  our  party  took  posi- 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


37 


lions  at  different  spots  to  observe  the  course  which  the  balloon  would  take. 
There  were  exclamations  of  amazement  on  all  sides  when,  after  ascending-  to- 
ward the  north  about  200  feet,  it  turned  sharply  to  the  south  and  passed  directly 
overhead  in  an  irregular  waving  course,  then  turned  again  toward  the  northeast 
and  pursued  an  unsteady  course  in  that  general  direction,  turning  back  and 
forth  and  to  one  side  and  the  other,  making  spirals  and  zigzags  in  every  direc- 
tion, until  it  finally  exploded  at  a height  of  about  3,000  feet,  a little  to  the  north- 
east of  the  starting  point.  The  sight  of  the  ascending  balloon  carried  noise- 
lessly hither  and  thither  in  the  moonlight,  by  unseen  and  unexplained  forces 
was  almost  uncanny  and  positively  alarming  for  the  moment,  in  its  suggestions 
of  all  manner  of  whirlwinds  and  cyclones  in  embryo.  Immediately  after  the  ex- 
plosion of  this  balloon  as  well  as  that  of  the  one  preceding  it,  flashes  of  lightning 
were  seen  in  the  distant  clouds  by  those  who  were  watching  them. 

At  3:30  a.  m.  it  was  noticed  that  the  sky  to  the  south  was  also  filling  with 
clouds  and  only  at  the  zenith  was  it  clear.  This  attracted  attention  to  the  sky 
overhead  where  we  were  soon  able  to  see  the  manner  in  which  the  clouds  were 
forming ; for  at  about  3:35  we  saw  a spot  of  vapor  appear  in  the  clear  sky  over- 
head, then  spread  out  and  rapidly  thicken  until  within  five  minutes  it  had  become 
a dark  cloud  entirely  obscuring  the  moon.  This  cloud  slowly  drifted  to  the  south 
and  other  spots  of  vapor  began  appearing  here  and  there,  growing  in  the  same 
manner.  In  fifteen  minutes  the  sky  was  completely  “ filled  up  ” with  dark  clouds. 

It  was  now  a few  minutes  before  4 a.  m,,  and  the  barometer  stood  at  30.30  inches. 
The  wind,  which  had  sunk  to  a light  breeze,  now  changed  from  the  southeast  to 
the  northwest,  and  the  clouds,  which  covered  the  entire  heavens,  could  be  seen 
moving  in  the  same  direction. 

At  4 a.  m.  the  last  balloon  was  exploded.  It  had  been  carried  half  a mile  to 
the  south  when  the  explosion  occurred,  and  rain  appeared  to  begin  to  fall  at 
that  point  immediately  after  the  explosion.  At  4:05,  some  bombs  and  a few 
charges  of  rackarock  were  exploded  and  immediately  scattered  drops  began  to 
fall.  In  five  minutes  a steady  rain  was  falling  and  in  another  ten  minutes,  the 
water  was  pouring  down  in  torrents.  The  rain  continued  falling  until  a few 
minutes  before  5 a.  m.,  and  the  rain-gauge  registered  .47  of  an  inch  in  that 
time.  A little  before  5 o’clock  the  wind  had  risen  strongly  from  the  north  and 
the  clouds  were  carried  rapidly  south  before  it.  The  rain  ceased  as  the  clouds 
passed  off,  and  the  fact  was  revealed  that  there  was  not  a single  cloud  of  any 
kind  following  the  one  storm  cloud  from  which  the  rain  had  fallen.  Fifteen 
minutes  after  the  rain  ceased t the  northern  half  of  the  sky  was  entirely  clear, 
and  in  an  hour  there  was  hardly  a cloud  in  sight.  Our  weary  men  u turned  in  ” 
after  seventy- two  hours  of  work  with  only  five  or  six  of  sleep. 

This  rainfall  was  the  only  one  observed  by  the  office  of  the  Weather  Bureau 
at  San  Antonio  from  the  4th  day  of  October  to  the  16th  of  November.  The  mate- 
rial used  in  the  San  Diego  experiment  was  as  follows  : 


From  the  stores  of  the  Government  expedition: 

Fifteen  10-foot  balloons,  at  $25 $375.  00 

Five  12-foot  balloons,  at  $35 175.  00 

3,600  pounds  sulphuric  acid,  at  $1.32  per  cwt 47.  52 

2,000  iron  borings,  at  50  cents  per  cwt 10.  00 

100  pounds  rackarock 16.  00 

Wire,  etc 10.00 


Cost  to  Government  $633. 52 


Materials  furnished  by  the  King  Ranch  and  others  in  Corpus  Christi, 

San  Diego,  and  vicinity  (cost  estimated): 

2.000  pounds  of  rackarock $320.  00 

5.000  cubic  feet  oxygen  gas 250.  00 

120  bombs. 170.00 

250  pounds  cannon  powder 25. 00 

500  pounds  dynamite 75.  00 

2.000  pounds  iron  borings 10. 00 

1 ,500  electrical  exploders 45.  00 

200  feet  time  fuse  and  caps 5. 00 


Total $900.00 


Total  cost  of  materials  used  (approximated) $1, 533. 52 


38 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


The  latter  persons  also  paid  the  salaries  and  expenses  of  the  party  during  the 
time  spent  at  Corpus  Christi  and  San  Diego,  and  the  traveling  expenses  from  El 
Paso  and  return,  a sum  amounting  to  $736. 

During  the  following  day  a number  of  gentlemen,  who  had  watched  the  results 
of  the  experiment,  came  to  our  camp  to  offer  their  congratulation  on  what  they 
considered  “ a complete  success  in  producing  rain  under  the  most  unfavorable 
circumstances,”  and  to  bring  me  reports  from  various  points  near  by  where  the 
rainfall  had  been  much  heavier  than  at  our  camp. 

From  Judge  James  O.  Luby,  Dr.  Lincoln  B.  Wright,  and  Mr.  Vat verde,  agent 
of  the  Mexican  National  Railroad,  at  San  Diego,  I received  the  following  reports, 
which,  in  the  absence  of  the  officers  of  the  Weather  Bureau  in  that  region,  are 
as  reliable  as  could  be  obtained.  The  original  expressions  are  used : 

Moose  Ranch,  23  miles  northwest,  no  rain. 

Mathis,  30  miles  northeast,  no  rain. 

Banquete,  25  miles  east,  no  rain. 

Corpus  Christi,  50  miles  east,  no  rain. 

Pena,  50  miles  southwest,  no  rain. 

Skidmore,  40  miles  north  northeast,  “ good  rain.” 

San  Antonio,  115  miles  north,  slight  rain  (.19  inch). 

Paul  Hennery.  6 miles  north,  “very  heavy  rain.” 

Laredo,  85  miles  west,  “ good  rain.” 

Realitos,  30 miles  southwest,  “light rain.” 

Parie  Ranch,  27  miles  southwest,  “ heavy  rain.” 

Benavides,  18  miles  southwest,  “pretty  good.” 

Hoffman  Ranch,  7 miles  southeast,  “ very  good  rain,  water  ran.” 

Thomas  Collin’s,  10  miles  southeast,  “ good  rain.” 

Paleta  Blanca,  16  miles  southeast,  “ heavy  rain.” 

Other  points  to  at  least  25  miles  southeast,  “ heavy  rain.” 

Many  points  south  of  San  Diego  reported  that  the  rainfall  was  “ very  heavy  ” 
in  that  direction,  the  water  “ running”  and  “ standing  in  the  hollows.” 

According  to  the  theories  under  test,  the  fact  that  the  rainfall  extended  as  far 
north  as  San  Antonio  (115  miles),  where  there  was  a slight  fall,  would  not  at  all 
indicate  that  the  rain  was  not  occasioned  by  local  causes,  for  the  effects  of  the  fir- 
ing, whatever  they  may  have  been,  must  certainly  have  been  carried  as  far  and 
farther  than  that  point  by  the  wind  which  blew  steadily  in  that  general  direc- 
tion during  all  the  firing. 

That  the  “norther  ” had  no  connection  with  the  formation  of  the  storm  would 
seem  to  be  clearly  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  clouds,  which  afterward  devel- 
oped and  produced  the  rainfall,  were  in  sight  at  least  eleven  hours  before  the 
“ norther”  reached  San  Antonio,  115  miles  north.  The  rain  was  local  in  char- 
acter, being  restricted  to  south-central  Texas  and  being  central  and  much  the 
heaviest  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  San  Diego.  It  occurred  over  the  region 
which,  according  to  the  theories  of  “ rainmaking,”  would  be  affected  by  the  fir- 
ing, and  during  an  unusually  high  and  steadily  rising  barometer. 

According  to  the  statement  of  the  agent  of  the  Weather  Bureau  at  San  An- 
tonio, the  “norther  ” itself,  was  brought  at  least  twenty  hours  before  it  was  due, 
under  normal  conditions.  He  says,  “ The  morning  telegraph  reports  of  the  17th 
indicated  a probable  ‘ norther  ’ for  this  locality  within  thirty-six  to  forty-eight 
hours,  and  I was  surprised  to  note  that  it  reached  here  in  little  more  than  six- 
teen hours,  a feature  which  is  clearly  attributable  to  the  disturbing  influences 
of  your  experiments  at  San  Diego.” 

The  following  forecasts  were  made  by  the  Weather  Bureau  during  the  time  of 
the  experiment  at  San  Diego: 

Thursday , October  15— Generally  fair  weather  may  be  expected  for  forty-eight 
hours  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  the  Gulf  States.  8 p.  m.:  For  the  Gulf 
States,  generally  fair. 

Friday , October  16 — For  the  Gulf  States,  generally  fair.  8 p.m.:  For  the  Gulf 
States,  generally  fair. 

Saturday,  October  17 — 8 a.  m.:  Another  clearing  condition  of  great  magnitude 
has  moved  from  the  Pacific  coast  to  Wyoming,  and  will  dominate  the  weather 
west  of  the  Mississippi  River  for  the  next  forty-eight  hours. 

Forecast  until  8 a.  m.  Sunday — For  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Eastern 
Texas,  generally  fair;  stationary  temperature,  except  slightly  warmer  in  north 
ern  portions,  winds  becoming  southerly.  8 p.m.:  Another  clearing  condition  from 
the  Rocky  Mountain  plateau  to  Colorado,  increasing  in  magnitude,  and  dominating 
the  weather  west  of  the  Mississippi  River.  Fair  weather  may  be  expected  for 
the  middle  and  upper  Mississippi  Valleys  and  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  also 
in  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  States. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


39 


Forecast  until  8 p.  m.,  Sunday. — For  Louisiana  and  Eastern  Texas,  generally 
fair;  slightly  cooler,  except  stationary  temperature  on  the  Gulf;  winds  becoming 
northerly. 

On  October  19  our  party  returned  to  Corpus  Christi,  where  it  disbanded.  Free 
transportation  was  furnished  by  the  railroads  for  the  various  members  of  the  ex- 
pedition to  El  Paso,  St.  Louis,  and  Chicago,  and  for  our  apparatus  and  unused 
material  to  St.  Louis,  where  I returned  all  the  unused  chemicals  and  empty  acid 
drums  to  Meyer  Bros.  Drug  Company,  where  I received  creditfor  the  same  on  the 
account  of  the  appropriation. 

In  making  the  experiments  at  El  Paso  and  San  Diego,  allowing  the  regular 
rates  for  all  transportation  of  both  party  and  paraphernalia  and  the  full  prices 
on  all  apparatus  and  material  used,  and  including  all  the  expenses  of  the  expe- 
dition after  leaving  Midland  till  it  arrived  at  Washington  on  the  return,  a nomi- 
nal expense  of  $6,384.34  was  incurred.  Of  this  amount  there  was  an  actual  ex- 
penditure on  the  part  of  the  Government  of  $1,450  (in  round  numbers),  and  there 
was  received  from  the  prosecution  of  the  investigations  in  the  form  of  free  rail- 
road transportation,  the  furnishing  of  materials  and  assistants  free  of  charge, 
and  the  payment  of  salaries  and  other  expenses,  assistance  amounting  to  a nom- 
inal sum  of  $4,984.34.  saving  that  amount  to  the  appropriation. 

I wish  to  express  my  appreciation  and  gratitude  for  valuable  assistance  given  by 
Mr.  George  C.  Smith,  of  the  St.  Louis,  Iron  Mountain  and  Southern  Railroad; 
Col.  John  A.  Grant,  of  the  Texas  and  Pacific;  Mr.  E.  G.  Bleker  and  other  officials 
of  the  Southern  Pacific;  Mr.  R.  W.  Andrews,  of  the  San  Antonio  and  Aransas 
Pass,  and  the  officials  of  the  Atchison,  Topeka,  and  Santa  Fe,  and  Mexican  Na- 
tional Railroads;  also  to  Mayor  Richard  Caples,  Maj.  James  Henton,  Lieut.  S. 
Allen  Dyer,  Dr.  W.  M.  Yandell,  Dr.  Appel,  Capt.  Juan  S.  Hart,  Mr.  Robert  J. 
Kleberg,  Messrs.  F.  Gueydan  & Co.,  Judge  James  O.  Luby,  Dr.  L.  B.  Wright, 
and  many  other  citizens  of  Corpus  Christi  and  San  Diego,  who  assisted  in  secur- 
ing the  desirable  results  of  our  work  at  those  places.  My  thanks  are  also  due 
to  the  following  members  of  the  Twenty- third  Infantry,  who  rendered  faithful 
and  intellegent  service  in  the  work  of  the  expedition:  Sergt.  F.  Lehman  and 
Privates,  S.  Adams,  M.  M.  Wolff,  and  H.  McCann,  of  Company  B,and  Corpl.  A. 
Gerald  and  Privates  G.  Arthur,  E.  J.  Fay,  B.  F.  Ellis,  F.  Nelson,  and  M.  Morris, 
of  Company  D. 

I have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  copies  of  certain  observations  made  by 
the  nearest  stations  of  the  Weather  Bureau  during  the  months  in  which  the  ex- 
periments were  made,  statements,  concerning  the  operations  and  results  at  El 
Paso  and  San  Diego,  by  Mr.  Eugene  Fairchild,  of  the  expedition,  and  a few  letters 
of  especial  interest  from  prominent  citizens  of  Texas  regarding  the  experiments 
at  which  they  were  present. 

Lieut.  Dyer  has  been  present  with  me  in  Washington  during  the  preparation 
of  this  report,  in  which  work  he  has  given  valuable  assistance.  Lieut.  Dyer  was 
with  me  constantly  during  the  experiments  at  El  Paso  and  San  Diego  and  he 
authorizes  me  to  say  that  he  concurs  in  all  the  statements  in  this  report  concern- 
ing those  experiments. 


Very  respectfully, 


John  T.  Ellis. 


BE  PORT  OF  LIEUT.  DYER. 

Washington,  D.  C.,  December  10 , 1891. 

R.  G.  Dyrenforth, 

Special  Agent,  Department  of  Agriculture,  Washington , D.  G.: 

Sir:  In  compliance  with  special  orders  received  from  the  War  Department,  I 
reported  to  the  Acting  Secretary  of  War,  who  directed  me  to  report  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  Agriculture;  upon  doing  so,  I was  ordered  to  report  to  you,  and  in  com- 
pliance with  your  request,  I have  the  honor  to  submit  the  following  report  of  my 
observations  and  views  regarding  the  Government  rainfall  exneriments  at  El 
Paso  and  San  Diego,  Tex.: 

Having  been  detailed  by  the  commanding  officer  at  Fort  Bliss,  Tex.,  to  render 
Mr.  Ellis  such  assistance,  in  these  experiments,  as  he  might  require,  I was  pres- 
ent when,  on  the  17th  of  September,  preliminary  to  the  experiments  to  be  made 
on  the  following  day,  a balloon  ascension  was  made  by  Mr.  Ellis  to  obtain  some 
data  concerning  the  condition  of  the  upper  air  strata.  The  observations  made 


40 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


by  Mr.  Ellis  revealed  the  fact  that  a thick  stratum  of  extremely  dry  air  existed 
over  the  valley,  reaching- to  the  altitude  of  at  least  4,000  or  5,000  feet,  a condition 
which  could  exist  only  in  a few  localities,  such  as  the  valley  in  which  El  Paso 
is  situated,  surrounded  by  high  hills  and  dry,  barren  country.  During  the  as- 
cension made  by  Mr.  Ellis,  a number  of  charges  of  dynamite  were  exploded  on 
the  ground  near  the  place  of  ascension  ; this  was  4:45  p.  m.  During  the  firing 
there  were  light  cumulus  clouds  above  which  increased  and  grew  heavier  during 
the  evening,  and  at  9 o’clock  p.  m.  the  sky  was  overcast  with  thick  clouds,  and 
soon  after  a slight  rain  fell,  the  rain-gauge  showing  a fall  of  .07  inch. 

This  was  the  heaviest  and  almost  the  only  rainfall  in  El  Paso  at  any  time  dur- 
ing the  seven  months  previous  to  the  time  of  my  leaving  there  on  November  30. 
I am  of  the  opinion  that  the  explosions  were  the  direct  cause  of  the  increased 
amount  of  precipitation.  It  was  a noticeable  fact  that  this  shower  was  not  accom- 
panied by  any  wind,  as  it  will  be  found  that  every  rain  in  that  section  has  always 
been  preceded  by  wind  storms.  Many  persons  who  were  familiar  with  the 
weather  at  El  Paso  were  of  the  opinion  that  this  fall  of  rain  was  due  to  the  ex- 
plosions. 

During  the  night,  the  dry  west  wind  which  arose,  cleared  away  all  further  in- 
dications of  rain.  On  September  18,  the  day  on  which  the  experiments  were 
conducted,  the  sky  was  perfectly  cloudless,  with  a dry  wind  blowing,  the  ther- 
mometer registering,  at  10  o’clock  a.  m.,  nearly  90°,  and  the  barometer  being 
very  high,  showing  a reading  of  30.11.  The  relative  humidity  was  less  than  40, 
and  the  dewpoint  59. 

The  experiment  began  at  10  a.'m.,  and  was  continued  throughout  the  day  until 
8 p.  m.  The  wind  during  the  day  had  blown  from  the  west  and  southwest  at 
about  8 miles  an  hour.  I noticed  that  at  about  8 p.  m.,  a few  clouds  had  formed 
and  also  saw  sharp  flashes  of  lightning  in  the  east.  Later  in  the  night,  more 
clouds  were  noticed  gathering  and  forming  overhead,  and  at  midnight  the 
sky  was  black.  At  this  time  the  thermometer  registered  69°,  the  relative  hu- 
midity was  64,  dew-point  57,  and  the  barometer  stood  29.94.  Before  sunrise  nearly 
all  the  clouds  had  passed  oh  and  the  barometer  was  rising  rapidly.  The  changes 
in  the  atmospheric  conditions  were  such  as  to  show  good  chances  for  rain.  The 
heaviest  dew  known  to  El  Paso  had  fallen  that  night,  and  I was  informed  by  a 
number  of  persons  that  such  a heavy  dew  was  never  known  in  El  Paso  before. 
While  there  was  no  rain  in  El  Paso,  reports  came  in  that  rain  had  fallen  within 
15  miles  to  the  south  and  southwest,  some  time  after  midnight,  and  it  is  my 
opinion  that  this  rain  was  from  the  clouds  which  had  formed  and  gathered  over 
El  Paso.  I believe  that  could  the  explosions  have  been  continued  for  a longer 
period,  the  results  desired  would  have  been  obtained.  After  once  changing  the 
atmospheric  conditions  from  a usual  to  an  unusual  state  by  artificial  means,  any 
cessation  of  these  means  would  destroy  the  effects  produced  and  the  conditions 
would  again  resume  their  natural  state,  and,  in  my  opinion,  a continual  series  of 
explosions  should  have  been  kept  up  until  the  results  desired  were  obtained. 
But  the  material  furnished  by  El  Paso  was  so  small  in  quantity  that  it  was  nec- 
essary to  stop  the  work  before  the  desired  results  had  been  effected. 

At  San  Diego,  Tex.,  on  the  15th,  16th,  and  17th  of  October,  the  experiments 
Were  conducted  upon  a different  and  more  uniform  method.  On  the  16th,  the  re- 
ports from  the  Weather  Bureau  showed  that  the  chances  of  any  rain  falling  at 
any  time  in  the  immediate  future  were  very  improbable.  It  was  decided  to  be- 
gin the  experiment  by  firing  a few  preliminary  explosions,  using  dynamite  and 
^ackarock  every  few  minutes  during  the  night,  and  it  was  noticed  from  careful 
observation  that  even  these  comparatively  few  and  scattered  explosions  caused 
noticeable  changes  in  the  atmospheric  conditions.  On  the  17th,  the  reports  from 
the  Weather  Bureau  were  even  more  unfavorable  than  those  of  the  day  previous 
for  any  prospects  of  rain.  The  day  was  dry,  with  a cool  wind  blowing  from,  the 
south;  but  again  that  night  similar  experiments  were  carried  on  as  on  the  night 
of  the  16th;  the  same  if  not  greater  changes  were  noticed,  the  Weather  Bureau 
reports  showing  that  an  extensive  area  directly  north  of  the  point  of  operations, 
and  in  the  direction  toward  which  the  wind  was  blowing,  had  become  heavily 
overcast  with  clouds  during  the  night,  while  at  all  other  points  in  Texas  the  sky 
was  perfectly  clear. 

On  the  17th,  the  day  of  the  final  experiment,  a telegram  was  received  from  the 
Weather  Bureau  predicting  dry,  fair  weather,  with  a rising  barometer.  It  was 
thought  best  to  finish  the  work,  even  though  a number  of  the  most  prominent 
people  said  rain  could  not  come,  much  less  be  produced  by  explosions,  under  such 
conditions,  and  that  the  result  of  the  experiments  would  be  a pronounced  failure. 
I myself  had  a long  talk  with  one  of  the  residents  and  he  informed  me  that  rain 
was  never  known  to  fall  there  with  such  conditions  as  then  existed,  and  that  it 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL.  41 


would  be  utterly  impossible  for  our  party  to  change  the  conditions  to  those  suit- 
able for  our  work,  and  that  it  would  be  better  to  wait  for  more  favorable  condi- 
tions. 

A series  of  explosions  was  kept  up  continually  from  about  9 p.  m.  until  12  mid- 
night. The  night  was  perfectly  clear,  the  only  cloud  to  be  seen  being  a slight 
patch  in  the  northwest  which  had  lain  there  all  the  afternoon.  The  air  was  dry 
and  cold,  with  a slight  wind  from  the  southeast.  At  12  o’clock  midnight  this 
cloud  seemed  to  be  growing  and  began  to  approach. 

I observed  a peculiar  effect  of  some  of  the  ground  explosions,  namely,  the  for- 
mation of  rings  of  smoke,  rising  and  whirling,  attended  by  a distinct  rushing  and 
moaning  sound,  lasting  a few  moments. 

From  this  time  until  3 a.  m.,  several  balloons  were  fired  at  intervalsof  a half  to 
three-quarters  of  an  hour.  Meanwhile  the  clouds  had  been  growing  steadily  and 
rapidly  and  vivid  flashes  of  lightning  were  seen  after  each  explosion.  The  air  was 
becoming  more  moist  and  the  clouds  had  spread  around  three  sides  of  us.  The 
balloons  took  unusual  courses  in  their  ascents,  turning  in  a number  of  different  di- 
rections, thus  showing  conclusively  that  there  was  a strange  disturbance  of  the 
air;  some  of  the  actions  of  the  balloons  could  be  explained  in  my  mind  only  by  the 
existence  of  unusual  electric  conditions. 

At  3:50,  the  sky  was  black  with  clouds,  very  heavy  and  hanging  low,  many 
clouds  having  formed  from  clear  sky  before  our  eyes.  At  about  4 o'clock  some 
bombs  and  a balloon  were  fired,  and  almost  immediately  the  rain  began  to  fall, 
the  wind  having  veered  round  to  the  northwest  a few  minutes  before.  The  rain 
was  soon  falling  in  torrents,  drenching  everybody  and  everything.  It  continued 
falling  for  about  an  hour,  when  the  rain  gauge  showed  that  .47  of  an  inch  had  been 
precipitated  in  that  time. 

By  6 a.  m.,  a dry  north  wind  had  arisen,  which  drove  the  clouds  away  and  re- 
moved all  prospects  of  further  rain. 

During  the  day  I talked  with  a number  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  San 
Diego,  who  informed  me  that  they  were  astonished  at  the  results  obtained;  that 
there  was  no  doubt  in  their  minds  that  the  rain  which  fell  was  the  direct  result 
of  the  operations. 

The  reports  which  came  in  by  telegraph  during  the  day  showed  that  the  rain  had 
extended  over  an  extensive  area  in  south-central  Texas,  being  central  and  heav- 
iest at  the  point  of  our  operations  and  directly  north  of  that  point,  where  the  ef- 
fect of  the  explosions  would  be  the  greatest.  The  storm  was  local  in  character 
and  had  come  unforetold  and  unexpected  by  any  office  of  the  Weather  Bureau. 
There  was  certainly  every  possible  appearance  of  the  rain  having  been  the  re- 
sult of  the  operations  at  San  Diego. 

One  gentleman  informed  me  that  this  rain,  comparatively  light  as  it  was,  had 
been  worth  to  him  alone  a number  of  thousand  dollars,  and  that  a large  area  of 
country  in  that  vicinity  had  been  greatly  benefited  by  it. 

I do  not  know  of  a single  person  who  was  present  while  the  experiments  were 
made  and  who  saw  the  conditions  under  which  they  were  made,  who  does  not  ex- 
press it  as  his  opinion  that  rain  was  caused  to  fall  by  the  operations,  and  that 
under  the  most  trying  atmospheric  conditions.  My  own  observations  and  expe- 
riences during  the  experiments,  have  led  me  to  the  conclusion  and  belief  that 
rain  can  be  produced  by  artificial  means  and  that  especially  will  ‘‘  rainmaking  ” 
prove  a practicable  and  most  valuable  success  when  the  conditions  are  favorable 
for  rain ; but  precipitation,  for  some  reason,  does  not  occur,  as  is  frequently  the 
case,  during  the  driest  seasons  in  the  semi-arid  regions,  and  especially  during  the 
growing  season,  when  rain  is  most  needed.  I know  that  this  opinion  is  shared 
by  nearly  all  who  have  been  present  at  the  tests. 

I desire  to  thank  Mr.  Ellis  and  the  members  of  his  party  for  their  kindness 
and  consideration  to  myself  and  detachment  during  all  the  operations,  Mr.  Ellis 
being  ready  at  all  times  to  give  me  any  desired  information  or  assistance. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  Allen  Dyer, 

First  Lieutenant , Twenty-third  Infantry , U.  o.  A . 


43 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFAL1 


45 


Record  of  observations  made  during  the  month  of  August,  1891. 

ABILENE,  TEX. 


8 a.  m.,  seventy -fifth  meridian  time=6:21 
a.  m.  local  time. 


8p.  m.,  .seventy-fifth  meridian  time=6:21 
p.  m.  loeal  time. 


Date. 

Cor- 

rected 

barom- 

eter. 

Tem- 

pera- 

ture. 

Rela- 

tive 

hu- 

mid- 

ity. 

Wind. 

Pre- 

cipita- 

tion. 

Cor- 

rected 

barom- 

eter. 

Tem- 

pera 

ture. 

Rela- 

tive 

hu- 

mid- 

ity‘ 

Wind.  . 

Pre- 

cipita- 

tion. 

Direc- 

tion. 

Veloc 

ity. 

Direc- 

tion. 

Veloc- 

ity. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

1 

29. 90 

71 

93 

0 

0 

.22 

29. 90 

66.5 

97 

NW. 

19 

28 

2 

30.00 

69 

95 

W. 

5 

.06 

.92 

87 

41 

NW. 

3 

T. 

3 

.05 

67 

98 

0 

0 

.97 

86.6 

40 

S. 

4 

4 

.04 

72 

82 

SE. 

1 

.95 

90 

41 

SE. 

12 

s 

04 

66 

S. 

10 

.97 

90 

34 

SE. 

18 

6 

.06 

74 

74 

SE. 

7 

.96 

90 

34 

SE. 

13 

7 

.06 

74 

74 

S. 

7 

.97 

90 

41 

SE. 

10 

8 

. 06 

75 

74 

s. 

9 

.94 

86 

45 

SE. 

18 

9 

.03 

78 

67 

s. 

10 

.95 

82 

55 

SE. 

10 

T. 

10 

.00 

72 

91 

s. 

8 

.62 

.96 

78 

E.  1 

14 

11 

.02 

75 

82 

s. 

12 

T. 

30.02 

78 

71 

SE. 

8 

10 

12 

. 13 

71 

95 

s. 

2 

.08 

78 

73 

S. 

11 

13 

. 11 

68.5 

98 

s. 

2 

.00 

87 

54 

SE. 

16 

14 

.04 

71 

86 

s. 

6 

29. 94 

90 

54 

SE. 

12 

15 

.02 

74 

84 

s. 

12 

.93 

90 

54 

SE. 

11 

16 

.07 

74 

84 

s. 

4 

.96 

90 

54 

E. 

9 

17 

.06 

75 

84 

s. 

.93 

90 

54 

SE. 

17 

18. 

.02 

76 

85 

s. 

8 

.90 

80 

72 

N. 

2 

T. 

19 

29. 97 

76 

87 

s. 

12 

T. 

.81 

93 

41 

SE. 

12 

20..  .. 

.90 

77 

83 

s. 

12 

.78 

97 

33 

S. 

12 

21 ... 

.92 

80 

69 

sw. 

6 

.76 

97 

31 

S. 

10 

12 

30. 09 

65 

100 

NE. 

6 

.26 

30. 18 

67.2 

66 

N. 

12 

44 

23 

.33 

56 

97 

NW. 

3 

.14 

76.5 

41 

NW. 

4 

24. 

. 13 

62.6 

67 

SE. 

6 

29. 89 

84 

29 

SE. 

14 

25..  .. 

29.97 

68 

48 

S. 

17 

.91 

88 

30 

SE. 

12 

20.  . . 

30.12 

66 

61 

SE. 

7 

30. 04 

88 

30 

SE. 

7 

27..  . 

.23 

64 

79 

0 

0 

.09 

86 

34 

E. 

10 

28 

. 14 

65 

90 

E. 

5 

.01 

83 

47 

E. 

29. 

.06 

73 

75 

S. 

0 

.04 

.00 

80 

54 

SE. 

10 

20 

.08 

72 

71 

SW. 

7 

.01 

.07 

78.6 

58 

NE. 

12 

T. 

21  

.17 

69.5 

86 

N. 

4 

T. 

.14 

73.0 

78 

S. 

6 

Mean . . . 

30. 06 

71.1 

81.2 

s. 

6.5 

*1.21 

29.97 

84.5 

49.9 

SE. 

10.8 

*.  8? 

EL  PASO,  TEX. 


Miles. 

Miles. 

1 

29. 80 

75 

38 

E. 

12 

29.81 

83.1 

31 

E. 

24 

2 

.93 

73. 1 

49 

E. 

14 

.83 

89.9 

23 

SE. 

8 

3 

30. 02 

71.2 

40 

0 

0 

.84 

92.2 

20 

E. 

9 

4 

29.  96 

73 

32 

E. 

7 

.81 

93.8 

17 

SE. 

T 

5 

.96 

72 

42 

NW. 

3 

T. 

.79 

97.7 

10 

S. 

2 

6 

.89 

74.9 

27 

SE. 

5 

.75 

94.4 

14 

SE. 

5 

7 

.88 

72.5 

43 

SE. 

.77 

91.2 

17 

SE. 

7 

8 

.90 

74 

40 

E. 

10 

.75 

91.9 

17 

E. 

7 

9.. 

.90 

73.4 

46 

E 

8 

.81 

82.0 

28 

SE. 

8 

T. 

10 

.95 

67.  1 

59 

SE. 

3 

.79 

89.6 

18 

SE. 

6 

11 

.91 

72.2 

51 

W. 

10 

.84 

87.8 

25 

SE. 

8 

12 

30. 02 

73 

51 

E. 

8 

.88 

88.  2 

21 

SE. 

9 

13 

.03 

70.5 

51 

0 

0 

.86 

89.6 

21 

SE. 

5 

14 

29. 98 

70.6 

46 

SE. 

4 

.82 

90.  4 

18 

SE. 

6 

15.. 

.91 

70.8 

45 

SE. 

7 

.77 

91. 4 

16 

SE. 

5 

16 

.91 

72 

36 

SE. 

.85 

85.2 

28 

SE. 

14 

17 

.97 

65.8 

53 

SE. 

2 

.90 

75.8 

57 

NE. 

28 

.04 

18 

.98 

66.7 

75 

NE. 

4 

.80 

84.5 

37 

0 

0 

T. 

19 

.90 

69 

75 

N. 

3 

T. 

.73 

93.9 

13 

W. 

3 

20 

.86 

74 

22 

NW. 

12 

.78 

92.4 

18 

SE. 

5 

21 

.88 

69.6 

42 

NE. 

7 

. 75 

99.4 

7 

NW. 

6 

22 

.96 

70 

50 

NE. 

28 

.98 

77.0 

40 

SE. 

17 

23 

30.20 

61 

60 

E. 

12 

.93 

83.0 

28 

SE. 

6 

24.. 

29.  94 

67.8 

35 

SE. 

8 

.71 

91.2 

18 

SW. 

4 

25 

.77 

77.2 

32 

W. 

5 

.69 

95 

6 

NW. 

3 

26. 

.90 

74.2 

34 

W. 

14 

.80 

92.8 

13 

NE. 

24 

T. 

27 

30.01 

73.2 

29 

N. 

7 

.03 

.90 

90 

15 

SE. 

11 

28 

.02 

73.3 

40 

NE. 

17 

.84 

86.7 

22 

E. 

4 

29 

29.93 

70 

53 

NE. 

23 

T. 

. 95 

70 

56 

NE. 

18 

T. 

30 

30. 02 

67.9 

58 

NE. 

12 

.02 

.99 

69.6 

66 

NE. 

15 

T. 

81 

.09 

64.  1 

79 

NE. 

10 

.04 

30.  00 

73.9 

50 

SE. 

11 

T. 

Mean . . . 

29. 95 

70.9 

46.2 

SE. 

8.7 

*.09 

29.  83 

87.5 

25  j 

SE. 

9.2 

*0.4 

* Total. 


46  EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL; 


Record  of  observations  made  during  the  month  of  August,  1891 — Continued. 

SANTA  FlC,  N.  MEX. 


Date. 

8 a.  m. 

seventy-fifth  meridian  time 
a.  m.  local  time. 

=5:56 

8 p.  m. 

seventy-fifth  meridian  time=5:56 
p.  m.  local  time. 

Cor- 

rected 

barom- 

eter. 

Tem- 

pera- 

ture. 

Rela- 

tive 

hu- 

mid- 

ity. 

Wind. 

Pre- 

cipita- 

tion. 

Cor- 

rected 

barom- 

eter. 

Tem- 

pera- 

ture. 

Rela- 

tive 

hu- 

mid- 

ity. 

Wind. 

Pre- 

cipita- 

tion. 

Direc- 

tion. 

Ve- 

locity. 

Direc- 

tion. 

Ve- 

locity. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

1 

30. 02 

60 

48 

E. 

4 

29. 97 

72.8 

22 

N. 

16 

2 

. 11 

59 

E. 

3 

30. 04 

74.8 

12 

NE. 

10 

3 

. 11 

61 

44 

E. 

8 

29. 97 

79 

19 

NW. 

8 

4 

.04 

64.8 

48 

FI 

4 

.96 

80 

23 

NE. 

6 

.00 

64.2 

47 

E. 

.98 

72 

71 

SW. 

13 

6 

.04 

63 

51 

E. 

2 

T. 

30.01 

72 

42 

sw. 

18 

.01 

7 

.06 

63.5 

53 

E. 

4 

.00 

73 

39 

SE. 

12 

.06 

8 

.08 

58. 

46 

NE. 

5 

T. 

29.  96 

78 

27 

SE. 

11 

9 . 

.02 

60.5 

48 

NE. 

2 

.01 

.96 

74. 5 

26 

E. 

3 

10 

.05 

55.4 

76 

NE. 

8 

.10 

30.  04 

64 

65 

E. 

6 

.12 

11 

.13 

57.5 

61 

NE. 

6 

.02 

78 

13 

SE. 

12 

12 

.14 

64 

51 

SE. 

6 

.06 

78 

24 

S. 

6 

13 

. 14 

61.2 

49 

E. 

3 

.98 

82 

18 

SW. 

14  . 

.05 

62. 0 

50 

SE. 

3 

.94 

82.1 

18 

w. 

6 

15 

.00 

63 

42 

SE. 

3 

.91 

83 

11 

s. 

12 

16 

.04 

65.1 

39 

SE. 

6 

. 95 

80 

15 

SE. 

.12 

17 

.04 

63 

46 

SE. 

4 

.94 

76 

25 

S. 

12 

18 

.00 

59 

65 

SE. 

4 

02 

.88 

72.8 

39 

SE. 

6 

10 

29.  89 

57 

71 

NE. 

8 

.01 

.96 

78.2 

18 

NW. 

8 

20....  

30. 00 

56.8 

45 

NE. 

13 

.96 

80 

10 

N. 

13 

21 

.00 

59 

40 

NE. 

2 

.92 

82 

7 

NW. 

12 

22 

. 12 

54 

70 

SE. 

2 

30.15 

65 

39 

SE. 

12 

23 

.29 

51 

62 

S. 

3 

.02 

74 

23 

SW. 

6 

24 

29.  99 

57 

50 

SE. 

2 

29. 83 

81 

15 

N. 

6 

25 

.87 

58. 1 

32 

E. 

0 2 

.85 

83 

16 

N. 

4 

26 

.97 

61 

31 

NE. 

4 

30. 00 

76.  8 

20 

SE. 

16 

27 

30.14 

63.2 

38 

SE. 

.09 

7l' 

34 

SE. 

4 

28 

.18 

53.6 

82 

NE. 

8 

T. 

.10 

59 

62 

SE. 

8 

.22 

29 

.19 

51 

81 

SE. 

2 

T. 

.13 

56 

65 

NE. 

8 

.02 

30 

.20 

51 

68 

NE. 

3 

.23 

.18 

58 

67  • 

E. 

8 

.21 

31 

. 27 

47 

86 

E 

3 

.01 

.12 

71 

30 

w. 

4 

\C  NE.  ) 

* Mean.  . 

30.07 

58.7 

54.2 

< SE.  > 

( E.  ) 

4.5 

1 

*.38 

30. 00 

74.4 

29.5 

SE. 

9.2 

*.  64 

CORPUS  CHRISTI  AND  SAN  ANTONIO,  TEX. 


1 

29. 92 

82 

88 

S. 

11 

29.91 

78.5 

73 

SE. 

9 

2 

.99 

80  1 

92 

NW. 

4 

. 95 

71 

86 

0 

0 

.50 

3 

30.02 

75 

100 

S. 

12 

2.40 

30. 01 

73.2 

78 

N. 

4 

4 

.04 

79 

94 

s. 

2 

.05 

74.3 

84 

SE. 

2 

.08 

5 

.11 

78.8 

83 

s. 

2 

.13 

73.5 

74 

NW. 

2 

6 

.12 

81 

88 

SE. 

2 

. 14 

75.  5 

76 

SE. 

2 

7 

. 10 

81 

88 

s. 

6 

.13 

77  * 

59 

SE. 

4 

8 

.08 

80 

83 

SE. 

4 

.10 

75 

84 

0 

0 

9 . 

.06 

81.5 

86 

SE. 

9 

.08 

76 

80 

SE. 

2 

10 

.04 

80 

87 

SE. 

9 

.08 

76 

82 

n 

0 

11  . 

.06 

80.5 

90 

SE. 

6 

.08 

78 

SE. 

5 

12 

.10 

80 

92 

N. 

3 

. 12 

78.2 

81 

0 

0 

13 

.08 

79 

91 

N. 

3 

. 10 

78 

71 

SW. 

1 

14 

.03 

79 

91 

N. 

5 

.06 

77 

71 

o 

0 

15.... 

.01 

81 

88 

w . 

3 

.05 

76.  5 

74 

o 

0 

16 

.03 

80 

92 

0 

0 

. 19 

.08 

76i  5 

76 

E. 

4 

17 

.04 

81.2 

91 

SE. 

2 

.04 

.09 

78 

71 

SE. 

4 

18.... 

.04 

82.  5 

86 

SE. 

2 

.06 

78 

SE. 

1 

19 

29.  98 

82 

84 

SE. 

6 

.02 

78 

75 

SE. 

2 

20 

.99 

83 

84 

SE. 

29.  99 

78 

75 

SE. 

3 

21  

.96 

82 

84 

SE. 

4 

.98 

78. 1 

77 

SE. 

3 

22.... 

.94 

82 

84 

SE. 

9 

.97 

77.5 

78 

SE. 

5 

23.. 

30.12 

68.5 

83 

N. 

12 

.02 

30.19 

68 

60 

N. 

9 

.47 

24.... 

.10 

68 

67 

N. 

4 

.14 

61.5 

66 

NE. 

7 

25 

.04 

77 

59 

SE. 

.07 

61 

71 

0 

0 

26 

.11 

73.5 

80 

N. 

4 

. 17 

66 

75 

0 

0 

27 

.14 

71 

86 

NW. 

6 

.20 

66.  5 

78 

NE. 

5 

28 

. 10 

73 

84 

N. 

8 

.13 

69.2 

67 

NE. 

6 

29  

.05 

76 

87 

W. 

4 

.09 

70.2 

73 

N. 

3 

30 

.05 

78 

87 

SW. 

2 

. 10 

74.5 

70 

0 

0 

31 

.10 

77  - 

87 

N. 

1 i 

. 14 

72 

75 

0 

0 

Mean . 

30.05 

78.5 

86 

SE. 

1 5 

*2.65 

30. 08 

74 

74.6 

SE. 

2.7 

*1.05 

* Total, 


47 


48  EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL 

Record  of  observations  during  the  month  of  September , 1891. 

EL  PASO,  TEX. 


8 a.m.,  seventy- fifth  meridian  time=5 : 54  8 p.  m.,  seventy -fifth  meridian  time=5:54 
a.  m.  local  time.  p.  m.  local  time. 


Date. 

Cor- 

rected 

barom- 

eter. 

Tem- 

pera- 

ture. 

Rela- 

tive 

hu- 

mid- 

ity. 

Wind. 

Pre- 

cipita- 

tion. 

Cor- 

rected 

barom- 

eter. 

Tem- 

pera- 

ture. 

Rela- 

tive 

hu- 

mid- 

ity. 

Wind. 

Pre- 

cipita- 

tion. 

Direc- 

tion. 

Veloc- 

ity. 

Direc- 

tion. 

Veloc- 

ity. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

1 

30.08 

62.9 

82 

E. 

5 

29.91 

81.9 

36 

SE. 

3 

2 

.00 

60.9 

73 

0 

0 

30. 00 

72  2 

59 

SE. 

7 

.07 

3 

.15 

63.2 

73 

E. 

14 

.03 

77 

38 

SE. 

7 

4 

.12 

59.2 

71 

SE. 

4 

29.  96 

82.5 

24 

0 

0 

5 

.06 

60.0 

57 

SE. 

1 

30.01 

86.3 

13 

SE. 

4 

6 

.15 

68.3 

23 

SE. 

9 

.04 

84.7 

14 

SE. 

5 

7 

.10 

63.3 

37 

SE. 

1 

29. 89 

90.7 

12 

W. 

5 

8 

29.90 

73.1 

22 

NW. 

12 

.87 

85.8 

24 

NE. 

19 

.01 

9 

30. 03 

71.0 

34 

E. 

13 

.90 

87.5 

21 

SE. 

4 

10 

.00 

69.0 

59 

N. 

4 

.03 

.83 

89.1 

21 

NW. 

7 

11 

29. 88 

72.5 

40 

NW. 

7 

.77 

93. 1 

14 

NW. 

9 

12 

.90 

76.4 

33 

NW. 

12 

.83 

92.2 

15 

W. 

7 

13  

.95 

70.3 

50 

W. 

2 

.92 

82 

31 

SE. 

17 

T. 

14 

.99 

71.0 

54 

NE. 

4 

.02 

. 9C 

81.3 

35 

SE. 

4 

T. 

15 

.93 

66.6 

60 

E. 

4 

T. 

.80 

89.9 

18 

SE. 

1 

16 

.91 

70.7 

39 

N. 

10 

.86 

87.1 

10 

NW. 

5 

17 

30.  00 

73.3 

28 

0 

0 

T. 

.91 

83 

26 

E. 

2 

18 

30.08 

65. 0 

80 

0 

0 

.07 

.89 

84 

24 

SW. 

7 

19 

29. 98 

61.0 

73 

SE 

4 

.86 

85.7 

15 

SE. 

4 

20 

.94 

64.8 

61 

SE. 

4 

.'86 

81.4 

31 

SE. 

13 

21  .. 

.97 

54 

E. 

10 

.87 

83 

31 

SE. 

6 

22  ... 

.98 

70. 1 

35 

SE. 

10 

.78 

84 

25 

SE. 

7 

23 

. 85 

67.9 

54 

SE. 

3 

.02 

.69 

80.9 

33 

S. 

6 

24  . 

.79 

65.0 

64 

SE. 

2 

.67 

83.5 

22 

SW. 

4 

25 

.87 

65.4 

74 

E. 

8 

.01 

.84 

75 

54 

SE. 

12 

T. 

26  . 

.90 

63.7 

86 

E. 

8 

.77 

82.6 

7 

W. 

10 

27  . 

.92 

56.0 

34 

NW. 

2 

.83 

80 

12 

NE. 

5 

28 

.96 

57. 1 

44 

N. 

4 

.92 

81.8 

23 

E. 

20 

29 

30. 03 

66.0 

58 

E. 

16 

.84 

76 

41 

SE. 

5 

30 

29.78 

63.7 

76 

E. 

8 

.59 

77.9 

43 

S. 

7 

T. 

Mean . . 

29.97 

66.2 

54.3 

E.,  SE. 

6 

*.  15 

29. 86 

83.4 

25.7 

SE. 

7.1 

*.08 

CORPUS  CHRISTI,  TEX. 


1 

30. 08 

76. 

87 

W. 

4 

30.00 

83.5 

76 

E. 

21 

2 

.01 

80.5 

84 

SE. 

3 

29.  93 

82 

76 

SE. 

7 

3 

.04 

77.2 

91 

N. 

12 

T. 

30.02 

81 

72 

E. 

8 

4 

.13 

73. 

73 

N. 

16 

.07 

78.5 

60 

E. 

17 

5 

. 13 

74. 

78 

NE. 

10 

.09 

80 

54 

E. 

13 

6 

.18 

69.5 

76 

N. 

6 

.10 

81 

58 

SE. 

12 

7 

. 15 

71.3 

58 

N. 

6 

.04 

81 

65 

SE. 

13 

8 

.08 

67.5 

94 

SW. 

8 

.04 

81 

61 

E. 

12 

9 

.11 

73. 

82 

SW. 

4 

.08 

81 

70 

E. 

15 

io : 

. 10 

73.8 

83 

w. 

4 

.00 

81.6 

76 

SE. 

12 

li 

.02 

81. 

80 

SE. 

4 

29.97 

82 

72 

SE. 

17 

12 

.02 

81. 

72 

SE. 

9 

.98 

82 

65 

SE. 

14 

13 

.04 

71. 

91 

SW. 

4 

.95 

84 

59 

SE. 

14 

14 

.03 

72. 

86 

S. 

14 

T. 

.97 

82.1 

92 

E. 

12 

.10 

15 

.05 

74. 

88 

SE. 

3 

.40 

30.02 

81 

80 

SE. 

15 

.10 

16 

. 11 

80.9 

90 

SE. 

7 

.02 

.07 

82.1 

86 

E. 

24 

17 

.13 

82. 

88 

SE. 

10 

. 10 

83 

84 

SE. 

14 

18 

.15 

82. 1 

79 

SE. 

12 

.06 

82 

80 

E. 

23 

19 

. 05 

81. 

82 

E. 

11 

T. 

.03 

82.1 

74 

E. 

19 

.10 

20 

.07 

75. 

91 

N. 

10 

29.97 

81.5 

63 

SW. 

6 

21 

.03 

75. 

84 

SW. 

6 

.98 

80 

75 

E. 

19 

.08 

22 

.04 

75. 

91 

NE. 

11 

.02 

30.00 

81 

70 

E. 

19 

.22 

23 

29.  98 

73.8 

96 

N. 

6 

.04 

29.88 

80.9 

78 

E. 

15 

24 

.88 

76. 

91 

NE. 

6 

T. 

.87 

78.5 

85 

NE. 

16 

.06 

25 

.90 

73. 

96 

E. 

6 

.66 

.93 

81 

80 

NE. 

24 

1.37 

26 

.91 

75. 

91 

N. 

17 

.01 

.83 

80 

92 

NE. 

23 

.16 

27 

.89 

79.5 

89 

SE. 

12 

.09 

.88 

81.5 

84 

SE. 

19 

T. 

28 

.93 

81. 

82 

SE. 

12 

T. 

.96 

81.5 

86 

E. 

15 

.01 

29 

30. 03 

79.6 

85 

SE. 

15 

.83 

.97 

81 

80 

NE. 

9 

.21 

30 

29. 96 

80.1 

85 

SE. 

12 

.03 

.89 

82.1 

82 

SE. 

19 

.14 

Mean.  .. 

30. 04 

76.1 

84.8 

SE. 

8.7 

*2. 10 

29. 99 

81.3 

74.5 

E. 

15.5 

*2.55 

♦Total. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


49 


Becord  of  observations  during  the  month  of  September , 1891 — Continued. 

SAN  ANTONIO,  TEX. 


8 a.  m.,  seventy- fifth  meridian  time=6:30  8 p.  ra.,  seventy -fifth  meridian  time=6:30 

a.  m.  local  time.  p.  m.  local  time. 


Date. 

Cor- 

rected 

barom- 

eter. 

Tern. 

pera- 

ture. 

Rela- 

tive 

hu- 

mid- 

ity. 

Wind. 

Pre- 

cipita- 

tion. 

Cor- 

rected 

barom- 

eter. 

Tem- 

pera- 

ture. 

Rela- 

tive 

hu- 

mid- 

ity. 

Wind. 

Pre- 

cipita- 

tion. 

Direc- 

tion. 

Veloc- 

ity. 

Direc- 

tion. 

Veloc- 

ity. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

1 

30. 13 

73 

69 

NE. 

5 

29.98 

88 

43 

SE. 

5 

.06 

71.3 

79 

NE. 

5 

.96 

84. 1 

51 

E. 

9 

3 

. 10 

74.2 

66 

NE. 

10 

30. 07 

82 

45 

NE. 

9 

4 

. 19 

59.2 

70 

N. 

7 

.09 

80.5 

34 

SE. 

6 

5 

. 17 

61.3 

66 

N. 

5 

.09 

84.5 

34 

SE. 

3 

6 

.19 

64.5 

NW. 

3 

.08 

85.5 

32 

NE. 

8 

7 

.16 

68 

63 

N. 

6 

.02 

86.5 

34 

SE. 

4 

8 

.10 

69 

70 

W. 

2 

.01 

84 

29 

SE. 

8 

9 

.15 

68.5 

66 

0 

0 

.06 

84 

41 

E. 

5 

10 

. 10 

68 

71 

NW. 

3 

29. 96 

87 

34 

SE. 

5 

11 

.06 

74 

68 

SE. 

3 

.93 

88.5 

38 

SE. 

8 

12 

.06 

73 

69 

0 

0 

.96 

89 

33 

SE. 

8 

13-. 

.06 

69.5 

68 

NW. 

3 

.98 

88 

27 

NE. 

6 

14  

.07 

71 

66 

NE. 

6 

30.  01 

71.5 

82 

N. 

6 

.21 

15 

.07 

71 

81 

E. 

7 

.06 

.06 

73 

78 

SE. 

4 

1.06 

16 

.15 

74 

82 

SE. 

3 

.02 

.08 

74.8 

72 

E. 

10 

17 

. 18 

75.5 

78 

SE. 

5 

. 10 

82.5 

62 

SE. 

10 

18 

.19 

74 

80 

E-. 

3 

.09 

“6 

74 

E. 

4 

19 

.12 

72.2 

84 

NE. 

3 

.71 

.04 

82 

60 

SE. 

4 

.03 

20 

.11 

67 

73 

N. 

4 

.02 

82 

58 

0 

0 

21 

.08 

68.7 

72 

N. 

8 

29. 99 

82 

43 

NE. 

7 

22 

.09 

70 

79 

NE. 

8 

30.  04 

74.5 

78 

E. 

7 

.04 

23 

.05 

71 

79 

E. 

8 

29.91 

78.6 

66 

E. 

8 

24 

29. 93 

71 

81 

E. 

10 

.15 

.91 

74.4 

78 

E. 

12 

25 

30. 02 

71 

95 

E. 

9 

. 05 

30.00 

73 

91 

E. 

5 

.40 

26 

.00 

70 

83 

NE. 

9 

29. 89 

81.5 

50 

NE. 

8 

27 

29.93 

73.9 

84 

E. 

7 

T. 

.92 

77.  5V 

83 

E. 

6 

.16 

28 

~30. 00 

74.6 

84 

E. 

3 

.03 

30.00 

80.5 

61 

SE. 

4 

29 

.13 

. 68.5 

88 

NE. 

12 

.54 

.03 

76 

66 

NE. 

7 

T. 

30 

.01 

72 

95 

E. 

4 

.02 

29. 90 

75.2 

87 

SE. 

4 

.12 

NE. 

Mean... 

30. 09 

70.3 

75.8 

u. 

5.4 

*1.58 

30.01 

80.9 

55.5 

SE. 

6.3 

*2.02 

CORPUS  CHRISTI,  TEX. 


1 

29.90 

71 

84 

SE. 

13 

T. 

29. 88 

82.5 

86 

SE. 

19 

2 

.92 

81.5 

82 

SE. 

18 

.02 

.90 

82 

84 

SE. 

24 

3 

.90 

81.5 

80 

E. 

19 

.10 

.90 

81 

80 

SE. 

12 

T. 

4 

. 91 

75 

95 

NE. 

9 

.94 

75 

74 

N. 

18 

5 

30.01 

65.5 

61 

N. 

12 

.92 

74.8 

68 

N. 

10 

6... 

29.  95 

67.  6 

83 

N. 

13 

30. 02 

68.3 

81 

N. 

19 

7 

30.14 

64.4 

71 

N. 

17 

.11 

67 

45 

N. 

11 

8 

.22 

54 

70 

N. 

11 

.15 

71. 1 

56 

N. 

4 

9 

.21 

61.5 

71 

NW. 

10 

.16 

71.5 

50 

N. 

11 

10......... 

.22 

54 

76 

N. 

11 

.14 

67 

49 

E. 

.11 

11 

.17 

58 

78 

E. 

4 

.13 

72 

69 

E. 

10 

12 

.16 

66 

85 

SE. 

4 

.11 

74 

70 

E. 

10 

13 

.10 

66.5 

90 

0 

0 

.07 

74.4 

86 

E. 

12 

14 

.13 

66.5 

95 

s. 

6 

.10 

74.9 

83 

SE. 

11 

15 

.16 

70 

95 

NW. 

3 

. 11 

75.8 

81 

E. 

15 

16 

.12 

70.1 

84 

S. 

5 

.08 

76 

82 

E. 

13 

17 

.13 

71.5 

84 

sw. 

5 

.15 

77 

78 

SE. 

11 

18.. 

.32 

70 

77 

N. 

17 

.34 

71 

45 

N. 

9 

19 

.40 

56 

57 

N. 

9 

.30 

70.9 

54 

SE. 

9 

20 

.27 

55.5 

62 

W. 

12 

.27 

72 

65 

SE. 

9 

21 

.30 

61 

87 

w. 

5 

.26 

73 

69 

SE. 

11 

22 

.31 

63 

93 

NW. 

4 

.26 

72 

65 

SE. 

8 

23 

.30 

62 

89 

SW. 

9 

.25 

73 

82 

SE. 

11 

24 

.22 

67 

76 

SE. 

6 

.14 

75 

72 

SE. 

13 

25 

.14 

68.5 

85 

S. 

5 

.15 

74.8 

86 

SE. 

15 

26 

.21 

71 

91 

SE. 

4 

.23 

75 

80 

SE. 

11 

27 

.30 

68.1 

95 

N. 

3 

.27 

74.9 

83 

SE. 

6 

28 

.33 

66.5 

92 

N. 

11 

.27 

74.5 

76 

E. 

18 

29 

.27 

72.2 

65 

E. 

13 

.23 

74.5 

66 

E. 

19 

30 

.21 

70.5 

79 

SE. 

4 

.17 

75.2 

82 

SE. 

12 

31 

.19 

70 

86 

N. 

2 

.16 

76 

82 

SE. 

15 

Mean . . . 

30. 16 

67 

81.2 

N. 

8.5 

*12 

30. 13 

74.1 

71.9 

SE. 

12.5 

T. 

* Total. 


S.  Ex.  45 4 


50  EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 

Record  of  observations  during  the  month  of  October,  1891. 

SAN  ANTONIO,  TEX. 


8 a.  m. , seventy-fifth  meridian  time=6:26  8 p.  m.,, seventy-fifth  meridian  tijne=6:26 

a.  m.  local  time.  p.  m.  local  time. 


Date. 

Cor- 

rected 

barom- 

eter. 

Tem- 

pera- 

ture. 

Rela- 

tive 

hu- 

mid- 

ity. 

Wind. 

Pre- 

cipita- 

tion.' 

Cor- 

rected 

barom- 

eter. 

Tem- 

pera- 

ture. 

Rela- 

tive 

hu- 

mid- 

ity. 

Wind. 

Pre- 

cipita- 

tion. 

Direc- 

tion. 

Veloc- 

ity. 

Direc- 

tion. 

Veloc- 

ity. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

1 

29. 92 

74.3 

88 

SE. 

6 

29.87 

79.7 

66 

SE. 

8 

2 

.95 

75 

87 

SE. 

6 

.03 

.92 

78.6 

73 

SE. 

8 

.14 

3 

.94 

74 

86 

SE. 

4 

.92 

75 

84 

0 

0 

.22 

4 

30. 02 

70 

N. 

9 

.02 

30. 06 

58.5 

72 

N. 

16 

5 

.10 

61 

58 

N. 

6 

29. 97 

69.3 

55 

N. 

6 

6 

.01 

59 

67 

NE. 

30. 10 

65.5 

59 

N. 

9 

7 

.26 

54 

59 

N. 

12 

. 16 

63.5 

36 

N. 

6 

8 

.26 

50. 1 

64 

N. 

6 

. 16 

72 

42 

E. 

4 

9 

.26 

57.5 

66 

NE. 

9 

.21 

50 

N. 

5 

10 

.28 

49.5 

64 

N. 

4 

15 

67 

51 

SE. 

3 

,11 

.22 

47.1 

62 

N. 

4 

.16 

67 

45 

SE. 

7 

12 

.21 

54 

70 

NE. 

3 

.10 

73.2 

44 

SE. 

5 

13 

. 13 

58 

75 

0 

0 

.05 

75 

42 

SE. 

4 

14 

. 19 

61.3 

63 

N. 

6 

.11 

73.7 

48 

SE. 

4 

15 

.18 

64 

70 

E. 

4 

.08 

77.3 

45 

SE. 

5 

16 

. 14 

64 

72 

NE. 

3 

.06 

76.2 

46 

SE. 

7 

17 

. 14 

100 

0 

0 

.13 

78 

46 

SE. 

4 

18 

.40 

65  ~ 

31 

N. 

12 

.19 

.39 

64 

38 

N. 

6 

19 

.46 

50.  5 

46 

N. 

5 

.31 

67 

37 

SE. 

6 

20  . ... 

.33 

49.5 

64 

NW. 

4 

.28 

71.5 

32 

SE. 

4 

21 

.32 

53 

69 

‘ N. 

4 

.26 

75 

34 

SE. 

3 

22 

.35 

57.4 

66 

N. 

5 

.25 

74.9 

39 

SE. 

5 

23 

.32 

58.2 

61 

NW. 

5 

.23 

74. 6 

40 

S. 

3 

24 

.25 

58 

100 

0 

0 

. 11 

74 

41 

S. 

5 

25. 

. 19 

60 

78 

N. 

5 

. 15 

74. 1 

43 

S. 

4 

26 

.24 

64.8 

87 

0 

0 

.22 

75.7 

45 

SE. 

3 

27 

.33 

62 

79 

NE. 

3 

.26 

77.5 

40 

SE. 

4 

28 

.34 

58.4 

67 

N. 

7 

.27 

75.2 

40 

E. 

7 

29 

.32 

59.5 

60 

NE. 

4 

.22 

71.7 

55 

SE. 

4 

30 

.25 

58 

83 

E. 

5 

. 16 

74 

45 

SE. 

4 

31 

.22 

65.5 

85 

E. 

2 

.16 

75.5 

50 

SE. 

5 

Mean . . . 

30.21 

59.7 

70.9 

N. 

4.8 

*.  24 

30.14 

72.4 

47.8 

SE. 

5.3 

*.  36 

RIO  GRANDE  CITY,  TEX. 


1 

29. 84 

77.5 

85 

E. 

8 

29.  79 

84.9 

68 

SE. 

10 

2 

.86 

77.2 

91  | 

E. 

4 

.83 

78.9 

87 

E. 

4 

.36 

3 

.85 

74.8 

93 

NE. 

5 

. 12 

.83 

79.6 

88 

E. 

7 

.03 

4 

.89 

72.7 

95 

NE. 

4 

.01 

.93 

71.1 

90 

NW. 

8 

.76 

5 

30.02 

64.  1 

76 

NW. 

9 

.01 

.88 

75.8 

60 

NW. 

2 

6 

29.  93 

64.5 

92 

NW. 

2 

.94 

80 

61 

N. 

9 

30. 13 

64 

64 

NW. 

9 

30. 07 

70.2 

53 

N. 

5 

8 

.20 

52.  2 

80 

N. 

1 

. 12 

71.2 

40 

N. 

3 

9 

. 19 

52.  2 

86 

N. 

1 

. 12 

74.5 

40 

NE. 

9 

10 

.20 

53!  2 

83 

NE. 

5 

.08 

69.2 

43 

NE. 

6 

11 

. 13 

52. 1 

89 

NE. 

4 

.05 

71.5 

50 

E. 

4 

12 

. 12 

60 

81 

NE. 

3 

.04 

75 

53 

E 

3 

13 

.06 

60.4 

88 

0. 

0 

.01 

76.8 

53 

E. 

4 

14 

.12 

60 

91 

NE. 

3 

.06 

75.6 

63 

E. 

4 

15  

.09 

66.5 

92 

E. 

3 

.04 

77.8 

57 

SE. 

4 

16 

.06 

66.1 

89 

SE. 

3 

.02 

78.8 

51 

SE. 

6 

17 

.08 

66.5 

88 

0. 

0 

.08 

80.9 

50 

E. 

6 

18 

.27 

63.  1 

89 

N. 

4 

. 32 

71.3 

40 

W. 

9 

19 

.39 

49 

80 

W. 

2 , 

.28 

67.7 

38 

NE. 

3 

" 

20 

.32 

44.3 

70 

NW. 

5 

.21 

68. 1 

50 

SE. 

4 

21 

.26 

51 

88 

N. 

4 

.20 

71.8 

49 

SE. 

4 

22 

.28 

52.9 

86 

N. 

2 

.21 

72.5 

52 

E. 

2 ' 

23 

.28 

54.7 

85 

0. 

0 

. 19 

71 

52 

E. 

4 

24 _ _ 

. 18 

58 

90 

NE. 

4 

.06 

75.2 

54 

E. 

6 

25 

.08 

62.5 

90 

NE. 

4 

.07 

77 

50 

NE. 

5 

26 

.16 

63.5 

93 

NE. 

3 

. 18 

73.8 

70 

SE. 

10 

27 

.27 

64.6 

87 

N. 

3 

.23 

75.2 

55 

E. 

2 

28  . . 

.29 

57.6 

88 

N. 

4 

.20 

75 

55 

E. 

6 

29 

.24 

59.7 

92 

NE. 

4 

.14 

76.5 

54 

NE. 

9 

30 

.16 

65 

92 

E. 

2 

. 10 

75 

55 

E. 

4 

31 

.12 

67.2 

92 

E. 

4 

.07 

78.5 

42 

E. 

5 

Mean  _ . 

30. 13 

60.9 

86.6 

1 

NE. 

3.5 

*.  14 

30.08 

74.9 

55.6 

E. 

5.4 

*1.15 

* Total 


52 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


Becord  of  observations  during  the  month  of  November,  1891. 

CORPUS  CHRtSTI,  TEX. 


8 a.  m.,  seventy -fifth  meridian  time=6:30  8 p.  m.,  seventy-fifth  meridian  time=6:30 
a.  m.  local  time.  p.  m.  local  time. 


Date. 

Cor- 

rected 

barom- 

eter. 

Tem- 

pera- 

ture. 

Rela- 

tive 

hu- 

mid- 

ity. 

Wind. 

Pre- 

cipita- 

tion. 

Cor- 

rected 

barom- 

eter. 

Tem- 

pera- 

ture. 

Rela- 

tive 

hu- 

mid- 

ity. 

Wind. 

Pre- 

cipita- 

tion. 

Direc- 

tion. 

Veloc- 

ity. 

Direc- 

tion. 

Veloc- 

ity. 

Miles. 

Miles. 

1 

30.154 

68.5 

95 

W. 

2 

1.59 

30. 157 

76.5 

74 

E. 

13 

0 

2 

30.  192 

71.0 

79 

N. 

10 

.01 

30. 199 

74.0 

82 

SE. 

19 

.30 

3 .... 

30.  239 

75.5 

66 

E. 

15 

.02 

30. 225 

76.0 

70 

E. 

14 

0 

4.... 

30.  239 

72.4 

82 

SE. 

3 

0 

30. 154 

75.0 

78 

SE. 

10 

0 

5 

30. 134 

61.0 

94 

W. 

7 

0 

30. 031 

74.5 

82 

SE. 

13 

0 

6 i__ 

30.  020 

70.0 

90 

SE. 

4 

0 

29.  930 

75.2 

86 

SE. 

15 

0 

7 

2.).  939 

72.0 

93 

SE. 

5 

0 

29. 822 

76.0 

82 

SE. 

13 

0 

8 ..mil" 

2.1.751 

73.5 

91 

SE. 

1.2 

0 

29.  641 

78.0 

81 

S. 

19 

0 

9 . 

30.  027 

55. 0 

59 

NW. 

24 

.50 

30. 073 

59.0 

49 

W. 

10 

0 

10 

30.  03  5 

45.4 

64 

sw. 

12 

0 

29.  931 

65.0 

61 

S. 

10 

0 

11 

2.1.  966 

61.5 

81 

s. 

9 

0 

29.  980 

73.0 

80 

SE. 

11 

0 

12  

30.  263 

57.9 

56 

N. 

17 

T. 

30.  210 

67.0 

53 

N. 

6 

0 

13 

30.211 

61.0 

84 

N. 

6 

0 

30. 157 

71.0 

81 

SE. 

12 

T. 

14 

3)  .165 

71.0 

81 

SE. 

12 

0 

30. 123 

72.1 

83 

SE. 

13 

T. 

15 

30  067 

70.  5 

88 

SE 

g 

0 

29. 995 

74.  0 

86 

SE 

14 

0 

1G 

2 ).  908 

7.2!  0 

91 

se! 

3 

0 

30. 006 

76.0 

82 

SE. 

12 

T. 

17 

43. 0 

N. 

30 

. 08 

30.  581 

49. 5 

34 

N. 

12 

0 

18 

38.  0 

57 

n! 

19 

0 

30.  422 

55  0 

79 

NE. 

18 

6 

19 

3 ).  276 

54.0 

76 

n! 

7 

0 

30.  166 

64^0 

87 

NE. 

3 

T. 

20 

30. 103 

66.0 

90 

SE. 

3 

0 

30.  004 

68.0 

86 

SE. 

8 

0 

21 

29  964 

70.  3 

93 

SE. 

7 

.01 

29.  797 

73.8 

83 

S. 

9 

. 01 

23  870 

59.  0 

94 

SW 

7 

0 

30. 134 

56  8 

31 

N. 

0 

2 5 

30.  195 

48.0 

47 

N.  ’ 

11 

0 

30.  094 

58.5 

60 

SE. 

5 

0 

24 

30.  071 

54.0 

64 

NE. 

17 

0 

30. 022 

59.0 

88 

N. 

9 

T. 

25.... 

30.051 

51.0 

93 

W. 

12 

,01 

29.  952 

61.5 

54 

NW. 

2 

0 

25 

23.  954 

48.0 

63 

SW. 

6 

0 

30. 029 

62.5 

69 

S. 

4 

0 

27 

30.  014 

52.  0 

84 

sw 

5 

0 

28. 865 

70.0 

75 

s. 

18 

0 

28 . . 

29.913 

62.  6 

97 

s. 

5 

0 

30. 195 

65.7 

42 

N. 

21 

0 

29 

30.  537 

42.5 

50 

N. 

14 

0 

30.  491 

55.  5 

46 

NE. 

12 

0 

30 

30.  455 

47.0 

72 

N. 

18 

0 

30.  309 

58.0 

70 

E. 

12 

0 

Mean 

30. 135 

59.9 

77.6 

N.,  SE. 

10.3 

.074 

30.  090 

67.3 

70.5 

SE. 

11.5 

.010 

SAN  ANTONIO,  TEX. 


1 

30. 205 

66.5 

82 

0 

0 

30. 154 

74.0 

50 

S.  E. 

5 

2 

30. 230 

63.2 

07 

N.  E. 

5 

30.  206 

74.3 

52 

E. 

5 

3 

62.5 

87 

N.  E. 

5 

30.  228 

73.5 

46 

S.  E. 

4 

4 

30.  260 

61.7 

100 

E. 

2 

30. 146 

74.0 

47 

S.‘  E.’ 

5 

5 

30. 153 

61.0 

87 

W. 

4 

30.  009 

76.0 

38 

S.  E. 

4 

6 

30.  041 

61.0 

100 

0 

0 

29.  886 

76.5 

48 

S.  E. 

8 

29.  890 

68.0 

78 

S.  E. 

4 

29.  759 

79.0 

43 

S. 

5 

8 "III"" 

2 ).  739 

70.7 

86 

0 

0 

29.  739 

72.7 

23 

N.  W. 

17 

9 

30'.  0 )3 

50. 0 

52 

N.  W. 

21 

30.  096 

58.0 

18 

N.  W. 

9 

10 

39. 5 

36 

W. 

5 

29.911 

67.  5 

26 

S. 

5 

11 

29.  989 

50.  0 

52 

0 

0 

30.  029 

73.0 

39 

N. 

18 

12 

30.  357 

47.0 

55 

N. 

17 

30.248 

57.5 

32 

N.  E. 

8 

13 

30. 264 

55.  0 

51 

N. 

5 

30. 156 

69.5 

72 

E. 

15 

14 

30.  204 

61.0 

78 

S.  E. 

2 

30. 106 

74.0 

66 

S.  E. 

15 

15 

30.091 

68.5 

81 

S.  E. 

9 

29.  986 

74.0 

72 

S.  E. 

11 

16 

30.  008 

70.0 

81 

S.  E. 

4 

30.  075 

72.5 

67 

N. 

24 

T.' 

17 

30.  630 

34.0 

58 

N. 

19 

0l07" 

30.  679 

43.0 

34 

N. 

9 

18  

30.  738 

34.0 

35 

N. 

9 

30.  510 

43.0 

51 

0 

0 

19 

30.  351 

45.0 

71 

E. 

5 

6. 62” 

30.  227 

56.0 

55 

E. 

6 

20 

30. 136 

59.0 

100 

S.  E. 

3 

0. 22 

30.  003 

70.3 

77 

S.  E. 

3 

0. 03 

21 

29.  978 

64.5 

97 

S.  E. 

4 

0. 04 

29. 842 

60.0 

94 

0 

0 

0. 54 

22  .. 

30.  087 

47.  2 

55 

N.  W. 

22 

30. 153 

52.  2 

51 

N.  W. 

3 

23  . 

34.  3 

44 

0 

0 



30  135 

55.  5 

41 

S.  E. 

5 

24 

30.  154 

38.0 

65 

N. 

7 

30.  074 

50.  5 

48 

E. 

4 

25 

30.  088 

44.  8 

64 

N W. 

7 

29.  969 

54.  5 

50 

S E 

6 

26 

30.016 

47.2 

59 

N.  W. 

6 

30.  059 

63.5 

38 

N.  E*. 

5 

27 

30.  018 

45. 1 

64 

N.  W. 

4 

29.878 

71. 5 

29 

S. 

5 

28 

30.  008 

51.5 

66 

N. 

6 

30.357 

57. 1 

31 

N. 

13 

39 

30.  599 

38.0 

46 

N.  E. 

9 

30.520 

48  5 

50 

N.  E. 

7 

30 

30.518 

39.0 

59 

N.  E. 

4 



30.321 

53.0 

41 

S.  E. 

7 

Mean . . . 

30. 182 

52.4 

69.6 

N. , SE. 

6.3 

0.12 

30  115 

61.5 

47.7 

S.  E. 

7 7 

on 

EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


53 


STATEMENT  OF  MR.  FAIRCHILD. 

The  expedition  has  completed  its  work  for  the  season,  and  the  question  is 
asked,  “ Have  the  experiments  been  successful  ?”  As  a member  of  the  expedi- 
tion, I am  convinced  that  the  experiments  have  been  entirely  successful,  and 
furthermore,  that  the  scheme  is  practicable;  the  cost  being1  very  small  as  com- 
pared with  the  benefit  gained.  A tax  of  a few  cents  an  acre  would  cover  the 
expense  of  operations  extending  over  the  entire  dry  season. 

A word  as  to  the  theories  of  “ rainmaking  ” in  answer  to  the*  objection  which 
many  scientists  have  raised,  that  the  force  of  a heavy  explosion  is  momentary 
in  its  effect,  and  hence,  if  the  concussions  did  cause  the  rain  to  fall,  it  should  come 
at  once;  it  is  not  claimed  that  the  explosions  themselves  will  cause  rain  to  fall 
from  a dear  sky,  but  that  they  will  start  a storm  center,  and  then  in  the  natural 
course  of  things  the  intermingling  of  the  currents,  and  other  disturbances  will 
progress,  until  rain  will  fall. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  the  conditions  are  favorable  and  clouds  are  present, 
as  they  are  in  many  portions  of  Texas  during  many  days  of  the  driest  seasons, 
rain  can  be  made  to  fall  in  greater  or  less  quantity,  within  a few  seconds  after 
the  explosion,  as  we  demonstrated  time  and  again  during  the  experiments. 

At  El  Paso,  we  began  work  at  about  10  a.  m.,  exploding  charges  of  dynamite 
and  rackarock  powder  at  intervals  of  about  two  minutes  until  8:03  p.  m.,  with  ex- 
plosions of  the  large  oxy-hydrogen  balloons,  containing  from  600  to  1,000  cubic  feet 
of  this  powerful  explosive,  every  forty-five  minutes.  In  the  evening,  heavy 
clouds  gathered  but  passed  off  to  the  southeast.  The  next  morning,  September 
10,  it  was  learned  that  the  rain  had  fallen  in  torrents  all  along  the  valley  of  the 
Rio  Grande.  The  Weather  Bureau  reports,  for  the  section  of  country  covered 
by  the  rain  on  that  day,  had  been  for  extreme  dry  weather  with  rising  barometer. 

From  El  Paso  the  party  went  to  Corpus  Christi,  by  way  of  San  Antonio,  in- 
tending to  operate  there,  but  as  it  commenced  raining  on  the  day  of  our  arrival 
and  continued  for  nearly  a week,  we  went  back  into  the  country,  50  miles  out  of 
the  rain  belt,  to  San  Diego.  Here  Mr.  Ellis,  wishing,  as  this  was  to  be  the  last 
experiment,  to  have  it  as  complete  and  positive  as  possible,  waited  nearly  three 
weeks  until  the  weather  had  settled  in  for  a long  drought. 

On  Thursday  night,  October  15,  the  line  was  arranged.  Directly  east  of  the 
camp  was  placed  a 12-pound  cannon.  Next  the  21-pound  mortar  batteries  for 
throwing  the  bombs  into  the  air  to  the  height  of  500  feet  or  more.  Beyond  these 
were  the  dynamite  and  rackarock  stations,  extending  nearly  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  down  the  road  toward  San  Diego.  The  balloons  were  filled  and  started, 
with  time  fuses,  from  an  open  space  west  of  the  camp.  A light  cannonading  was 
carried  on  Thursday  and  Friday  nights,  but  the  final  bombardment  of  the  heavens 
on  Saturday  night  was  on  a much  larger  scale  than  we  had  ever  attempted  be- 
fore. The  sky  was  cloudless  and  the  weather  predictions  were  most  decidedly 
against  rain,  but  on  Sunday  morning  the  rain  fell  heavily  for  an  hour,  our  rain- 
gauge  showing  an  inch  and  a half  of  precipitation. 

The  almost  unanimous  decision  of  all  responsible  persons  who  have  witnessed 
our  work  is  that  it  has  been  a great  success,  and  that  without  a doubt  it  will  soon 
be  a thing  of  the  past  for  the  Texas  cotton-grower  to  lose  two-thirds  of  his  crop 
for  lack,  of  rain  at  the  right  time. 

Eugene  Fairchild. 

Chicago,  III.,  November  1, 1891. 


opinions  of  spectators. 

[Extract  from  a letter  from  the  Delamer  Ranch,  of  San  Diego,  Tex.] 

San  Diego,  Duval  County,  Tex.,  November  14,  1891. 

I was  present  at  the  experiment  on  the  night  of  the  17th  of  October,  and  on 
the  following  morning  drove  out  to  the  camp  to  offer  you  my  congratulations, 
but  finding  you  asleep,  did  not  disturb  you. 

You  are  aware  that  I was  very  much  interested  in  the  object  of  your  visit  here. 
In  fact  I was  one  of  the  first  to  move  in  the  matter  of  bringing  you  to  San  Diego, 
for  which  purpose  I went  to  some  expense. 

It  affords  me  the  greatest  pleasure  to  say  that  1 am  satisfied  with  the  result. 
From  what  I saw  and  from  what  I heard  from  those  who  watched  throughout 
the  night,  I am  of  the  opinion  that  the  rain  which  fell  on  the  morning  of  the  18th, 
was  produced  by  the  explosions;  that  the  clouds  which  gave  the  rain,  formed  over 
this  section  from  a clear  sky,  and  were  not  carried  from  afar  by  the  “ norther ; ” 


54 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


and  that  had  the  “norther”  not  come  just  at  that  hour,  we  would  have  had  a much 
better  rain  over  this  locality. 

I will  further  state  that  I spoke  to  several  parties  on  the  morning*  of  the  18th, 
and,  without  exception,  they  all  attribute  the  rain  to  the  explosions. 

For  my  part!  think  the  greatest  object  of  the  test  has  been  attained,  viz:  the 
demonstration  that  rain,  much  or  little,  can  be  drawn  from  the  sky.  One  single 
drop  so  drawn  bears  an  incalculable  importance.  Further  experiments  will  teach 
us  how  to  bring  it  in  greater  quantity  and  the  most  economical  means  of  doing 
so. 

Very  truly  yours, 

H.  J.  Delamer. 

P.  S. — I would  suggest  that  you  write  to  Mr.  R.  J.  Kleberg,  Santa  Gertrudes 
or  Collins  post-office,  Neuces  County,  Tex.,  who  was  the  largest  subscriber  to 
the  “ rain  ” fund,  and  who  represents  the  largest  landed  interests  in  the  South- 
west. Mr.  Kleberg  is  a gentleman  of  enlightenment,  experience,  and  sound  sense, 
whose  word  carries  the  greatest  weight.  I think  you  will  find  he  is  pleased  with 
the  result. 

H.  J.  D. 


[Extracts  from  letters  written  by  Dr.  Lincoln  B.  Wright,  of  San  Diego.] 

San  Diego,  Tex.,  October  SO,  1891. 

* * * Your  experiments  in  rain-making  were,  in  my  opinion,  a decided  suc- 
cess. I feel  safe  in  saying  that  you  evidently  produced  rain,  or,  to  be  more  ex- 
plicit, that  rain  would  not  have  fallen  without  the  effects  produced  by  your  ex- 
periments. I have  great  confidence  in  the  undertaking,  and  shall  watch  with 
interest  your  future  operations.  * * * 

Yours,  very  respectfully, 

L.  B.  Wright,  M.  D. 

San  Diego,  Tex.,  November  13, 1891. 

* * * My  brother,  the  colonel,  saw  Mr.  Kleberg,  of  the  King  Ranch,  the 
other  day  and  had  a long  talk  with  him  about  the  experiments. 

Mr.  Kleberg  was  at  the  ranch,  and  in  company  with  several  other  gentlemen, 
watched  the  experiments  throughout  the  night.  To  say  that  he  is  highly  pleased 
with  the  experiment  and  that  he  is  thoroughly  convinced  of  its  success  is  to  put 
it  mildly;  he  is  enthusiastic  and  does  not  regret  a dollar  that  he  spent;  he  only 
wishes  that  he  had  spent  more.  *’  * * 

Yours  truly, 

L.  B.  Wright,  M.  D. 

Mr.  Kleberg,  to  whom  Dr.  Wright  refers,  is,  the  manager  and  principal  pro- 
prietor of  the  1,000,000-acre  King  Ranch.  The  ranch  subscribed  $1,000  for  use 
in  making  the  experiments,  the  entire  amount  of  which  was  not  used,  however. 
Mr.  Kleberg  visited  Midland,  Tex.,  in  August,  immediately  after  the  last  experi- 
ment at  that  point,  and  fully  satisfied  himself  of  its  success  before  offering  to 
contribute  toward  an  experiment  at  San  Diego. 

The  following  is  from  Messrs.  F.  Gueydan  & Co.,  the  principal  mercantile  and 
banking  house  of  Southern  Texas,  consisting  of  F.  Gueydan,  C.  Tiblier,  and 
George  Bodet,  the  latter  of  whom  is  also  postmaster  of  San  Diego  and  treasurer 
of  Duval  County.  The  firm  paid  a part  of  the  expenses  of  the  experiments  at 
that  point: 

San  Dieqo,  Tex.,  October  SO,  1891. 

To  whom  it  may  concern : 

It  gives  us  great  pleasure  to  testify  our  high  esteem  for  the  manner  in  which 
the  experiments  have  been  made  at  this  point  for  the  purpose  of  producing  rain. 

We  can  say,  without  doubt,  that  the  rain  which  fell  at  this  place  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  18th,  was  due  entirely  to  the  heavy  explosions  caused  by  the  Govern- 
ment expedition;  that,  during  their  experiments,  they  have  worked  hard  to  ob- 
tain the  result  which  we  so  highly  appreciate,  and  which  has  been  of  great  bene- 
fit to  the  surrounding  country. 

We  extend  our  heartfelt  thanks  and  gratitude  to  each  and  every  member  of 
the  expedition. 

Respectfully, 


F.  Gueydan  & Co. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL.  55 


[Letter  from  Dr.  William  Taylor,  correspondent  of  the  British  Museum  and  Smithsonian  In- 
stitution.] 


Considering  the  dry  day  and  night  previous  to  the  rainfall  at  4 o’clock  on  Sun- 
day morning,  October  18,  and  the  rising  barometer  and  the  appearance  of  a dry 
norther,  I firmly  believe  that  the  rain  was  produced  by  the  explosions  made  by 
the  Government  expendition,  at  San  Diego.  I consider  the  experiments  highly 
successful,  and  sincerely  hope  that  further  experiments  may  be  tried  in  this  .re 
gion. 

Wm.  Taylor,  M.  D. 

San  Diego,  Tex.,  October  SO,  1891. 


[Letter  from  Judge  James  O.  Luby,  of  Duval  County,  Tex.] 

San  Diego,  Tex.,  October  Slt  1891. 

I congratulate  you  on  the  success  of  your  experiments  at  this  place. 

If  your  operations  of  the  night  of  the  17th  did  not  produce  the  rain  in  our  county 
on  the  morning  of  the  18th  instant,  it  was  one  of  the  strangest  coincidences  I 
have  ever  witnessed.  The  previous  desultory  explosions  unaccompanied  or  fol- 
lowed* by  copious  showers  caused  many  to  be  skeptical  of  the  final  results;  your 
choosing  the  night  of  the  17th,  on  a rising  barometer  and  an  expectant  dry 
norther,  made  me  think  you  courted  failure  in  the  face  of  a frowning  world,  as 
the  conditions  were  more  unfavorable  than  at  any  time  during  your  stay  here. 
I became  interested  and  hied  me  to  Camp  Powers,  to  witness  the  final  coup  de 
main.  The  smoking  batteries  and  airy  balloons  were  in  strange  contrast  with 
the  clear  sky.  I was  the  only  person  on  the  ground,  out  of  the  hundreds  present, 
that  carried  an  umbrella.  I suppose  you  didn’t  notice  it,  as  you  were  busy  at 
the  balloons.  My  reason  for  carrying  it  was  that  I don’t  care  to  trifle  with  science. 

After  witnessing  the  heavy  cannonading  for  awhile  and  seeing  no  perceptible 
change  in  the  sky,  I feared  that  Prof.  Newcomb’s  yellow-legged  polly wogs  would 
not  be  afforded  an  opportunity  to  disport  themselves  in  water  produced  by  your 
efforts. 

On  my  return  from  Camp  Powers  I watched  the  forming  of  clouds  with  inter- 
est. I saw  them  form  from  what  appeared  to  be  thin  air,  and  banking  up  in  the 
northwest. 

On  the  explosion  of  one  of  the  balloons  at  2:30  a.  m.,  I was  at  the  lower  San 
Diego  bridge,  which,  as  you  are  aware,  is  a parabolic  iron  truss,  with  a span  of  153 
feet.  I went  there  out  of  curiosity  to  note  the  effects  of  the  balloon  explosions. 

The  bridge  is  over  2i  miles  from  the  camp,  and  the  structure  rattled  and  vi- 
brated with  great  force.  I thought,  that  if  tbe  explosions  could  so  visibly  affect 
a solid,  well-braced  structure  at  such  a distance,  that  nature,  being  so  constantly 
shook  up  from  her  dewy  slumbers,  would  drop  a tear  or  two  in  response  to  the 
efforts  of  the  rainmakers. 

What  was  my  surprise,  after  retiring  for  the  night,  to  hear  the  patter  on  the 
shingles  ; I then  knew  that,  in  the  language  of  the  festive  cowboy,  you  had  k‘  got 
acinch  on  Old  Pluvius,”and  that  the  “ Powers  ” that  be,  got  there  with  the  limpid 
aqua  purd. 

Wishing  you  future  success,  I remain 

Yours  truly, 

James  O.  Luby. 


[Letter  from  Hon.  G.  W.  Fulton,  who  was  present  during  the  operations  at  El  Paso  and  sub- 
scribed $300  toward  the  San  Diego  experiments.] 


Gregory,  San  Patricio  County,  Tex., 

November  SO,  1891. 

I have  much  pleasure  in  expressing  to  you  my  firm  conviction  that  the  San 
Diego  experiment  was  a success,  and  I should  have  done  so  much  earlier  had  I 
known  where  to  reach  you.  I had  promised  myself  the  pleasure  of  witnessing  it, 
and  very  much  regret  that  pressing  business  called  me  to  Victoria  while  the  ex- 
periment was  in  progress.  Your  telegram  announcing  the  beginning  of  opera- 
tions only  reached  me  Saturday  afternoon,  at  Beeville,  on  my  return  from  Victo- 
ria. At  that  time  I was  much  discouraged,  for  I never  saw  less  appearance  of 
rain  indications.  I remarked  to  some  friends  that  I was  afraid  the  experiment 
was  a flat  failure,  and  on  the  Monday  morning  following,  when  informed  by  Mr. 
Driscoll  that  a half  inch  of  rain  had  actually  fallen  at  San  Diego  and  over  a wide 
area  contiguous  to  that  point,  I was  much  surprised,  and  gratified  correspond- 


56 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


ingly.  There  were  many  people  who  attributed  the  rainfall  to  the  intermingling 
of  the  cooler  north  wind,  which  arose  Sunday  morning,  with  the  warmer  moisi 
air,  losing  sight  of  several  important  facts.  First,  if  I am  correctly  informed, 
the  rainfall  was  before  the  norther  and  ceased  after  the  norther  arose;  second, 
the  air  was  not  moist,  as  proven  by  the  hygrome  trie  readings  at  the  time;  and  last, 
but  not  least,  there  was  no  rain  at  all  immediately  on  the  coast,  where,  if  there 
was  any  difference  at  all,  there  must  have  been  much  more  moisture  in  the  air 
than  at  San  Diego. 

Considering  these  facts,  I am  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the  rainfall  was  the 
direct  result  of  the  explosions;  and  I further  believe  that  if  it  had  not  been  for 
the  norther,  the  result  would  have  been  convincing  to  the  most  skeptical.' 

Always  a believer  in  the  theory  that  rain  can  be  produced  by  concussions,  my 
opinion  has  been  much  strengthened  by  the  results  both  at  Ei  Paso  and  San 
Diego.  I never  viewed  the  enterprise  in  the  light  of  procuring  so  much  rain  for 
so  much  money,  though  I am  now  convinced  that  the  time  will  arrive  when 
it  will  be  possible  to  do  so,  and  I am  much  in  hopes  that  you  will  be  enabled  to 
prosecute  your  experiments  until  the  practicability  of  the  theory  is  demonstrated 
beyond  any  question. 

You  will  doubtless  be  interested  to  know  that  the  balloon  which  escaped  you 
at  San  Diego,  was  found  near  the  western  boundary  of  our  pasture,  quite  40  miles, 
I should  say,  from  where  it  ascended.  It  was  still  fairly  well  inflated,  enough  of 
the  hydrogen  having  escaped  to  cause  it  to  descend,  I presume,  and  the  half- 
burned  fuse  was  still  in  place. 

I hope  it  may  happen  that  your  investigations  may  again  be  pursued  in  this 
section,  for  I feel  deeply  interested  in  them,  and  I wish  to  say  that  we  regard 
our  contribution  to  the  cause  a most  excellent  investment. 

Very  truly  yours, 

G.  W.  Fulton,  Jr. 

[Letter  from  Mr.  Robert  J.  Kleberg,  of  the  King  Ranch.] 

King’s  Ranch,  Collins,  Nueces  County,  Tex., 

December  22,  1891. 

Your  telegram  of  recent  date,  asking  me  to  give  you  my  views  of  past  and  future 
experiments  in  producing  rainfall,  came  to  hand  a few  days  since,  and  I no  w com- 
ply with  your  request.  As  to  past  experiments,  you  know  that  I was  not  present 
at  any  of  the  experiments  made  by  your  party  when  you  experimented  at  San 
Diego.  I was  here  on  the  ranch,  27  miles  to  the  southeast  of  the  place  where 
you  operated,  still  I witnessed  some  of  the  results  of  your  experiment  on  Satur- 
day night,  the  last  night  that  you  experimented.  I was  here,  and  at  about  21 
o’clock  that  night,  I was  awakened  out  of  a sound  sleep  by  the  shocks  produced 
by  the  explosion  of  the  balloons.  It  shook  the  building  very  perceptibly,  so 
much  so  that  everyone  on  the  ranch  here  was  awakened. 

I went  out  and  found  the  sky  bright  and  clear;  stars  and  moon  shining  brightly. 
Some  of  the  men  employed  about  the  place  had  been  up  for  some  time  trying  to 
see  or  hear  the  explosions  of  your  experiments,  and  they  showed  me  the  locality. 
I soon  saw  the  flash  of  one  of  the  exploding  balloons,  and  exactly  in  a minute’s 
time  by  the  watch  I felt  the  shock  produced  and  noticed  the  shaking  of  the 
building  I was  in.  I was  in  an  observatory,  about  50  feet  from  the  ground,  on 
top  of  a house.  There  was  one  small  cloud  visible  in  the  sky  at  that  time,  and 
only  one.  This  seemed  to  be  about  5 acres  large.  It  was  a little  to  the  east  of 
San  Diego  and  the  point  where  I could  see  the  explosions  of  the  balloons.  This 
cloud  was  alone,  disconnected  from  any. others;  the  stars  were  shining  brightly 
beneath  it  in  the  sky,  showing  that  it  was  not  a part  of  a bank  of  clouds.  This 
cloud  was  moving  slowly  from  the  east  to  the  west,  and  we  observed  that  every 
time  a balloon  exploded  lightning  seemed  to  flash  in  this  little  cloud,  and  they 
said  that  they  had  noticed  it  forming  in  the  place  where  it  then  was. 

I retired  about  2 o’clock  a.  m.,  and  at  4 a.  m.,  I was  again  awakened  by  the 
rain  failing  on  the  roof  of  the  house  I was  occupying.  At  7,  when  I arose,  but 
few  clouds  were  visible  and  a dry  “norther”  or  north  wind  was  blowing.  The 
rainfall  at  this  place  was  very  light,  but  a neighbor  living  20  miles  to  the  west 
of  here  and  south  of  San  Diego  told  me  that  on  his  ranch  the  best  rain  fell  that 
night  which  had  fallen  there  in  three  years.  Now,  I will  further  state  in  this 
connection,  that,  as  all  the  “ northers  ” we  have  had  this  winter,  before  that  time 
and  since,  were  “ dry  northers,”  I do  not  think  that  the  clouds  from  which  the 
rain  fell  that  night  or  morning,  were  brought  on  by  the  “ norther,”  but  on  thq 
contrary  were  driven  off  by  the  same,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  rain  which 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


57 


fell  could  fairly  be  claimed  to  have  been  produced  by  your  experiment.  So  much 
for  my  views  on  the  past.  I do  not  think,  however,  that  these  experiments, 
which  were  made  under  the  most  adverse  circumstances,  have  demonstrated, 
fairly  and  sufficiently,  the  theory  whether  or  not  rainfall  can  be  produced  by 
heavy  concussions. 

I do  think,  however,  from  what  I could  learn  of  the  other  experiments  made 
by  you  at  Midland  and  El  Paso,  and  from  what  I saw  or  witnessed  here  of  your 
experiments  at  San  Diego,  that  the  results  were  certainly  encouraging  to  war- 
rant our  Government  to  make  a liberal  appropriation  to  be  expended  in  further 
experiments  to  produce  rainfall.  There  certainly  is  no  subject  of  greater  inter- 
est to  our  entire  people  than  this,  for  in  almost  all  portions  of  the  Union  has 
there  been  suffering  from  drought  this  year. 

I do  think  that  in  less  than  ten  years  great  progress  will  be  made  in  this  re- 
spect. Hoping  to  hear  from  you  in  reference  to  any  steps  which  may  be  taken 
in  this  matter,  I remain, 

Yours  truly, 

Robert  J.  Kleberg. 

The  foregoing  extracts  from  letters  are  true  copies  of  the  originals. 

S.  Allen  Dyer, 

First  Lieutenant , Twenty-third  Infantry , U.  IS.  Army. 


OBSERVATION  OF  ATTENDANT  METEOROLOGICAL  PHENOMENA. 

I particularly  invite  your  consideration  of  the  following  phenomena 
believed  to  have  been  observed : 

(1)  The  hot  and  dry  surface  stratum  of  air  in  arid  regions,  exerting  a 
repellent  action  upon  any  superior  bodies  or  strata  of  air. 

(2)  The  visible  dissolving  of  clouds,  showing  the  conversion  or  re- 
conversion of  moisture  into  vapor  upon  contact  of  the  clouds  with  the 
dry  and  warmer  air  of  the  surface  stratum,  the  appearance  being  par- 
ticularly striking  when  occurring  while  clouds  are  moving  toward  the 
observer. 

(3)  The  visible  precipitation  from  a cloud,  without  the  precipitation 
reaching  the  ground. 

(4)  The  greater  rapidity  of  the  surface  currents,  as  compared  with  the 
higher  currents,  and  the  difference  in  direction  of  these  currents  from 
the  surface  currents  and  from  each  other  at  different  altitudes. 

(5)  The  mechanical  effect  of  some  of  the  explosions  manifest  in  the 
whirling  ring  of  ascending  smoke  attended  by  the  peculiar  moaning 
sound. 

(6)  The  great  force  of  the  waves  resulting  from  explosions,  and  the 
return  wave  resulting  from  contact  of  the  explosion  wave  with  a cloud. 

(7)  The  precipitation  from  a moist  cloud  near  by,  from  the  blow  of  an 
explosion. 

(8)  The  appearance  of  heavy  cloud-formation,  succeeding  explosions, 
in  the  direction  toward  which  the  wind  was  blowing  at  the  time  of  the 
explosions. 

(9)  The  tendency  of  cloud-formation  to  develop  at  places  on  the  hori- 
zon of  the  field  of  explosion,  and  the  appearance  of  rain  at  these  points 
gradually  extending  to  the  center,  where  it  rained  last  when  it  rained 
at  all. 

DEDUCTIONS. 

The  few  experiments  which  have  been  made,  do  not  furnish  sufficient 
data  from  which  to  form  definite  conclusions,  or  evidence  upon  which  to 
uphold  or  condemn  the  theories  of  the  artificial  production  of  increase  of 
rainfall  by  concussion.  Experiments  extending  over  a period  of  only  a 
few  months  can  scarcely  be  sufficient.  It  is  only  by  a large  number  of 


58 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


tests,  with  accurate  noting  of  conditions  and  occurrences,  tliat  definite 
conclusions  can  be  reached ; and,  if  then  it  be  ascertained  to  be  a certainty 
that  rainfall  will  be  induced  by  explosions,  that  such  production  o i 
rainfall  can  be  reduced  to  an  art,  so  as  to  effect  precipitation  at  a pre- 
determined place.  What  has  been  done  so  far  is  altogether  prelim  in  ary ; 
but  with  the  benefit  of  the  experience  gained,  I hope  that  the  subject 
will  be  pursued.  At  the  risk  of  being  tiresome,  I have  embodied  in  my 
report  the  minutest  details,  in  order  that  others  who  may  follow  me  in 
this  line  of  inquiry,  may  be  fully  advised  as  to  what  has  preceded.  It 
may  be  said,  however,  that  the  three  principal  tests  which  have  been 
made,  namely,  at  the  UCV  Ranch,  Midland;  at  El  Paso,  and  at  San 
Diego,  Tex.  (all  under  conditions  much  more  unfavorable  than  need  ever 
be  encountered  in  attempts  to  produce  rainfall),  supply  testimony  which 
would  seem  to  point  to  the  following  inferences: 

First.  That  when  a moist  cloud  is  present,  which,  if  undisturbed, 
would  pass  away  without  precipitating  its  moisture,  the  jarring  of  the 
cloud  by  concussions  will  cause  the  particles  of  moisture  in  suspension 
to  agglomerate  and  fall  in  greater  or  less  quantity,  according  to  the 
degree  of  moistness  of  the  air  in  and  beneath  the  cloud. 

Second.  That  by  taking  advantage  of  those  periods  which  frequently 
occur  in  droughts,  and  in  most  if  not  in  all  sections  of  the  United  States 
where  precipitation  is  insufficient  for  vegetation,  and  during  which  at- 
mospheric conditions  favor  rainfall,  without  there  being  actual  rain,  pre- 
cipitation may  be  caused  by  concussion. 

Third.  That  under  the  most  unfavorable  conditions  for  precipitation, 
conditions  which  need  never  be  taken  in  operations  to  produce  rain, 
storm  conditions  may  be  generated  and  rain  be  induced,  there  being, 
however,  a wasteful  expenditure  of  both  time  and  material  in  over- 
coming unfavorable  conditions. 

COST. 

In  prosecuting  the  investigation  in  this  matter,  there  has  been  a total 
expenditure,  allowing  the  regular  rates  and  prices  for  all  transporta- 
tion and  other  expenses  of  the  party  and  the ‘material  (some  of  which, 
however,  remains  on  hand  for  use  in  future  experiments),  of  about 
$17,000. 

Of  this  amount  there  has  been  au  actual  expenditure,  on  the  part  of 
the  Government,  of  about  $9,000,  and  assistance  has  been  received  from 
outside  parties  interested  in  the  prosecution  of  the  investigation,  in  the 
form  of  free  railroad  transportations,  the  furnishing  of  materials  and 
labor  free  of  charge,  and  the  payment  of  expenses  as  stated  in  the  re- 
port of  Mr.  Ellis,  amounting  to  about  $0,017,  to  which  should  be  added 
contribution  by  myself,  and  value  of  materials,  labor,  subsistence,  etc., 
not  specially  itemized,  amounting  to  perhaps  some  $2,000  more;  thus 
bringing  to  the  work  an  amount  nearly  equal  to  the  entire  appropria- 
tion and  enabling  me  to  carry  out  the  investigation  to  a much  greater 
extent. 

CONCLUSION. 

For  aid  to  the  expedition  at  El  Paso  and  San  Diego,  and  for  most 
efficient  services  rendered  here,  in  Washington,  appreciative  thanks 
are  due  to  Lieut.  Dyer.  This  officer  has  been  with  me  constantly  dur- 
ing the  preparation  of  this  report  and,  Jby  his  knowledge  and  ability, 
his  exact  memory  and  strict  attention  to  facts,  he  has  enabled  me  to  give 
a fuller  statement  of  details  than  would  otherwise  have  been  possible. 

In  closing  my  report,  I desire  to  disclaim  (with  the  sole  exception  of  a 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  PRODUCTION  OF  RAINFALL. 


59 


denial  by  me,  published  in  a prominent  newspaper,  of  certain  state- 
ments attributed  to  me  by  that  newspaper),  each  and  every  statement 
which  lias  appeared  in  any  newspaper  or  periodical  as  coining  from  me; 
and  I also  desire  to  declare  that  all  premature  and  undigested  state- 
ments by  any  member  of  my  party,  especially  an  effusion  in  the  nature 
Jbf  a public  lecture  here,  assumptive  of  experience  on  the  part  oft  ho 
^lecturer  unhad  and  of  knowledge  which  could  only  be  gained  by  the 
(Most  complete  experience,  were  unauthorized. 

1 forward  herewith  the  maps  of  the  Weather  Bureau  and  the  pamph 
lets  to  which  I have  referred. 

Very  respectfully, 

B.  (t.  Dyrenfortii. 

Washington,  February  19 , 1892. 

i 


Department  of  Agriculture,  Office  of  toe  Secretary, 

Washington,  1).  C.,  February  27,  1891. 

Sir:  You  are  hereby  appointed  special  agent  of  this  Department  for  “the  making 
>f  experiments  in  the  production  of  rainfall,”  in  pursuance  of  the  provision  for  the 
same  in  the  appropriations  for  this  Department  for  the  current  year,  said  appoint- 
ment to  continue  until  the  30th  day  of  June,  1891. 

You  are  hereby  authorized  to  take  full  charge  of  the  same,  and  incur  any  expense 
therefor  that,  in  your  judgment,  is  necessary,  not  exceeding  the  sum  of  $2,000, 
ess  the  expenses  of  Daniel  Ruggles,  of  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  the  owner  of  a 
latent  granted  to  him  in  1880,  covering  the  production  of  rainfall  by  artificial 
neans,  and  who  is  in  Washington  at  present,  in  consultation  with  this  Department 
relative  to  the  subject-matter  of  the  experiments.  At  the  proper  time,  when  you  get 
ready  for  the  experiments,  you  will  notify  him  to  be  present,  and  out  of  this  sum  will 
pay  his  traveling  expenses  and  his  expenses  in  Washington  for  a limited  time.  In 
other  respects  you  are  authorized  to  engage  any  experts,  to  purchase  and  transport 
any  material,  to  pay  traveling  expenses  of  yourself'and  employes,  as  you  may  deem 
necessary  in  the  premises  for  a complete  trial  of  your  experiments,  all,  as  well  as 
your  own  compensation,  to  be  pauhout  of  said  $2,000  on  vouchers  properly  presented 
to  this  Department  on  or  before  the  expiration  of  this  commission. 

Respectfully, 


J.  M.  Rusk, 


Secretary. 


Mr.  Robert  G.  Dyrenforth, 

Washington,  D.  C. 


Department  of  Agriculture,  Office  of  the  Secretary, 

Washington,  V.  C.,  June  30,  1891. 

Sir:  Your  appointment  as  special  agent  of  this  Department  is  hereby  extended 
and  continued  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1892.  Your  duties,  as  heretofore, 
will  be  making  of  “experiments  in  the  production  of  rainfall,”  in  pursuance  of  the 
provision  for  the  same  in  the  appropriations  of  this  Department  for  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June  30,  1892.  You  are  hereby  authorized  to  take  full  charge  of  said  experi- 
ments and  incur  any  expenses  therefor  that  in  your  judgment  are  necessary,  not  ex- 
ceeding the  sum  of  $7,000.  You  are  authorized  to  engage  any  experts,  to  purchase  and 
have  transported  any  material,  and  make  said  experiments  in  any  place  you  choose, 
and  the  traveling  expenses  of  yourself  and  employes,  your  own  compensation,  and 
all  expenses  will  be  paid  out  of  said  fund.  You  are  authorized  to  do  the  things  you 
may  deem  necessary  in  the  premises  for  a complete  trial  of  your  experiment ; and  all 
expenses  herein  authorized  are  to  be  properly  presented,  on  vouchers,  to  this  Depart- 
ment on  or  before  the  expiration  of  this  commission. 

Respectfully, 


i 


I 

! 


Mr.  Robert  G.  Dyrenforth, 

Washington,  D. 


C. 


J.  M.  Rusk, 

Secretary. 


o 


